Poor sleep quality is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular issues, but the connection between sleep quality and left ventricular (LV) structure remains unclear, particularly across different ethnic groups. A recent study examined this relationship within a tri-ethnic cohort from the Southall and Brent Revisited (SABRE) study, which included 1,284 participants (average age 49.9 years; 75.9% male) consisting of Europeans (615), South Asians (457), and African/African-Caribbean individuals (212).
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A composite sleep quality score was developed, and LV structure measurements were conducted through echocardiography. The study aimed to assess associations between sleep quality and LV mass indexed to height (LVMi), relative wall thickness (RWT), and LV end-diastolic volume indexed to height (LVEDVi) using multivariable linear regression, adjusting for demographic and lifestyle factors.
Results indicated that participants with poorer sleep quality had a significantly higher LVMi compared to those reporting very good sleep quality, with a difference of 4.8 g/m1.7 per unit decrease in sleep score (95% CI 1.4; 8.2; p=0.006). When findings were stratified by ethnicity, the association was not significant among Europeans (1.9 g/m1.7; p=0.493), but it showed a notable relationship in African/African-Caribbean participants (9.1 g/m1.7; p=0.023) and South Asians (5.8 g/m1.7; p=0.031).
The study concludes that poor sleep quality is linked to higher LVMi in older African/African-Caribbean and South Asian individuals, but this trend is not observed in Europeans, suggesting that sleep quality may play a role in ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk.
The SABRE study initially received funding from the UK Medical Research Council and Diabetes UK, with subsequent support from the Wellcome Trust, British Heart Foundation, and Diabetes UK for follow-up studies. Ethical approvals were granted by the relevant research ethics committees, ensuring compliance with necessary guidelines.