Sex differences in sleep: impact of biological sex and sex steroids

Mong, Jessica A.; Cusmano, Danielle M.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0110

Cited by 365 publications

(333 citation statements)

References 142 publications

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“…The observed associations with BMI, waist circumference, and TBF are consistent with other observational studies, showing that short sleep duration and poor sleep quality are associated with having more body fat (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10). Except for the observation that men and women have different sleeping habits (women tend to sleep longer and have a higher risk for experiencing insomnia during their lifespan, and 33%-51% of women report sleep complaints during menopausal transition) (30) and have a different body fat distribution, the observed associations of sleep duration and sleep quality with adiposity were similar in men and women. The observation that the association of short sleep duration and poor sleep quality with VAT attenuated after adjustment for TBF is in line with a cross-sectional study performed in a Japanese population (31).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Habitual Sleep Measures are Associated with Overall Body Fat, and not Specifically with Visceral Fat, in Men and Women

Dekker

Noordam

Biermasz

et al. 2018

Obesity

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Objective This study aimed to investigate the associations of sleep duration and sleep quality with visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in middle‐aged individuals. Methods In this cross‐sectional analysis of baseline measurements of the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity (NEO) study, participants underwent anthropometry and completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for assessing short sleep duration (as sex‐specific age‐adjusted percentiles) and poor quality (PSQI > 5). VAT was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging in a random subgroup. We performed linear regression analyses to examine associations of short sleep and poor sleep with measures of body fat, adjusted for confounding, including total body fat in models with VAT. Results A total of 5,094 participants (52% women; mean age of 56 [SD 6] years), 1,947 of whom had VAT measurements, were analyzed. The difference in VAT between poor sleep (PSQI > 5) and good sleep (PSQI ≤ 5) was 7.2cm2 (95% CI: 1.2‐13.8) in women and 16.1cm2 (95% CI: 6.2‐26.0) in men. These differences attenuated toward the null after the adjustment for total body fat. Similar patterns of associations were observed for short sleep (lowest 10% compared with median 60%). Conclusions Our results suggest that measures of sleep are not specifically associated with a higher amount of VAT.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Habitual Sleep Measures are Associated with Overall Body Fat, and not Specifically with Visceral Fat, in Men and Women

Dekker

Noordam

Biermasz

et al. 2018

Obesity

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“…Finally, as most research on gender differences in sleep has been conducted in adults, the literature regarding the role of gender on sleep problems in childhood and adolescence is scarce and has shown mixed results (see Krishnan and Collop, 2006; Galland et al, 2012; Mong and Cusmano, 2016 for review). Some studies have indicated that gender has no or relatively little influence on sleep (Voderholzer et al, 2003; Chaput and Tremblay, 2007; Dollman et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental Trajectories of Sleep Problems from Childhood to Adolescence Both Predict and Are Predicted by Emotional and Behavioral Problems

et al. 2016

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Although the prevalence rates of sleep disorders at different stages of childhood and adolescence have been well established, little is known about the developmental course of general sleep problems. This also holds true for the bidirectional relationship between sleep problems and emotional as well as behavioral difficulties. This longitudinal study investigated the general pattern and the latent trajectory classes of general sleep problems from a large community sample aged 5–14 years. In addition, this study examined the predictive value of emotional/behavioral difficulties (i.e., anxiety/depression, attention problems, and aggressive behavior) on sleep problems latent trajectory classes, and vice-versa. Participants (N = 1993) were drawn from a birth cohort of Western Australian children born between 1989 and 1991 who were followed until 14 years of age. Sleep problems were assessed at ages 5, 8, 10, and 14, respectively, whereas anxiety/depression, attention problems, and aggressive behavior were assessed at ages 5 and 17 years. Latent growth curve modeling revealed a decline in an overall pattern of sleep problems during the observed 10-year period. Anxiety/depression was the only baseline factor that predicted the longitudinal course of sleep problems from ages 5 to 14 years, with anxious and depressed participants showing faster decreasing patterns of sleep problems over time than those without anxiety or depression. Growth mixture modeling identified two classes of sleep problem trajectories: Normal Sleepers (89.4%) and Troubled Sleepers (10.6%). Gender was randomly distributed between these groups. Childhood attention problems, aggressive behavior, and the interaction between gender and anxiety/depression were significantly predictive of membership in the group of Troubled Sleepers. Group membership in Troubled Sleepers was associated with higher probability of having attention problems and aggressive behavior in mid-adolescence. Boys and girls with behavioral difficulties, and girls with emotional difficulties were at increased risk of having sleep problems during later childhood and adolescence. Developmental trajectories of sleep problems were also predictive of behavioral difficulties in later life. Findings from this study provide empirical evidence for the heterogeneity of sleep problems and their development, and emphasize the importance of understanding sleep problems and their relationship to children and adolescents’ mental health.

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“…But very few investigators consider the impact of sex on sleep. In this issue, Mong and Cusmano [94] detail sex differences in various aspects of sleep and note that sleep disorders in women may manifest differently than in men, requiring a new set of diagnostic criteria. Similar arguments have been made for the substantially higher rates of diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders in boys, meaning, because girls externally manifest the disorder differently from boys, they may be under-diagnosed and thereby under-served.…”

Section: Sex Differences In Diseases and Disorders Of The Nervous Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multifaceted origins of sex differences in the brain

McCarthy

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

144

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Studies of sex differences in the brain range from reductionistic cell and molecular analyses in animal models to functional imaging in awake human subjects, with many other levels in between. Interpretations and conclusions about the importance of particular differences often vary with differing levels of analyses and can lead to discord and dissent. In the past two decades, the range of neurobiological, psychological and psychiatric endpoints found to differ between males and females has expanded beyond reproduction into every aspect of the healthy and diseased brain, and thereby demands our attention. A greater understanding of all aspects of neural functioning will only be achieved by incorporating sex as a biological variable. The goal of this review is to highlight the current state of the art of the discipline of sex differences research with an emphasis on the brain and to contextualize the articles appearing in the accompanying special issue.

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Sex differences in sleep: impact of biological sex and sex steroids

Cited by 365 publications

References 142 publications

Habitual Sleep Measures are Associated with Overall Body Fat, and not Specifically with Visceral Fat, in Men and Women

Habitual Sleep Measures are Associated with Overall Body Fat, and not Specifically with Visceral Fat, in Men and Women

Developmental Trajectories of Sleep Problems from Childhood to Adolescence Both Predict and Are Predicted by Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Multifaceted origins of sex differences in the brain

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