Research links irregular sleeping patterns to higher risk of heart problems

27/11/2024 14:51

        An Australian-led international research has found that people with irregular sleeping patterns are at a higher risk of major heart problems.
        
        The study, which was published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, found that an irregular sleep-wake cycle is linked to a 26 percent higher risk of a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE).
        
        Researchers from Australia's University of Sydney and Monash University, Columbia University of the United States and Canada's University of Ottawa analyzed data from 72,269 people aged 40-79 taking part in the ongoing United Kingdom Biobank study.
        
        The participants, none of whom had any history of MACEs, wore an activity tracker for seven days to record their sleep. The data from the trackers was then used to calculate each participant's Sleep Regularity Index (SRI) score.
        
        People with an SRI score of over 87.3 were considered to have a regular sleeping pattern while those with a score lower than 71.6 were considered irregular sleepers. People with a score between 71.6 and 87.3 were categorized as moderately irregular sleepers.
        
        Incidents of cardiovascular death, heart attack, heart failure and stroke among participants were then recorded over the next eight years.