title: Gender-specific association of sleep duration with blood pressure in rural Chinese adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are limited data about the role of gender on the relationship between sleep duration and blood pressure (BP) from rural populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a cross-sectional rural population-based study. This report includes 1033 men and 783 women aged 18-65 years from a cohort of twins enrolled in Anhui, China, between 2005 and 2008. Sleep duration was derived from typical bedtime, wake-up time, and sleep latency as reported on a standard sleep questionnaire. Primary outcomes included measured systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). High blood pressure (HBP) was defined as SBP ⩾130 mmHg, DBP ⩾85 mmHg, or physician diagnosed hypertension. Linear and logistic regression models were used to assess gender-specific associations between sleep duration and BP or HBP, respectively, with adjustment for known risk factors including adiposity and sleep-related disorder risk from the questionnaires. Generalized estimating equations were used to account for intra-twin pair correlations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with those sleeping 7 to <9h, women sleeping <7h had a higher risk of HBP (odds ratios [ORs] 3.0, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-6.6); men sleeping ⩾9h had a higher risk of HBP (ORs=1.5, 95%CI: 1.1-2.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among rural Chinese adults, a gender-specific association of sleep duration with BP exists such that HBP is associated with short sleep duration in women and long sleep duration in men. Longitudinal studies are needed to further examine the temporal relationship and biological mechanisms underlying sleep duration and BP in this population. Our findings underscore the potential importance of appropriate sleep duration for optimal blood pressure.
authors.affiliation: Mary Ann and J. Milburn Smith Child Health Research Program, Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Children's Memorial Hospital and Children's Memorial Research Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Hongjian
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Phyllis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zee
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: Ronald D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Chervin
authors.forename: Pallavi P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Patwari
authors.forename: Binyan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhiping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Gengfu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000502:physiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult