Association between sleep quality and cardiovascular health: a door-to-door survey in rural Ecuador.
OBJECTIVE
Cardiovascular correlates of sleep disorders have not been well investigated in underserved populations. The aim of this door-to-door survey was to evaluate the association between sleep quality and cardiovascular health status in persons aged ≥40 years living in a village that is representative of rural Ecuador.


METHODS
All stroke-free Atahualpa residents aged ≥40 years were screened with a validated Spanish version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the seven cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics proposed by the American Heart Association to assess the CVH status.


RESULTS
A total of 635 persons (mean age 59 ± 13 years; 58 % women) were identified. A poor sleep quality was present in 27 % of the subjects (95 % CI 24-31 %) and a poor cardiovascular health in 69 % (95 % CI 63-71 %). In a multivariate logistic regression model, a poor sleep quality was associated with some CVH metrics in the poor range, including smoking status (p = 0.026), physical activity (p = 0.01) and blood glucose levels (p = 0.036).


CONCLUSIONS
A poor sleep quality may be linked to individual cardiovascular risk factors in this underserved Latin American population. This finding provides useful insights for the implementation of regional prevention priorities.
School of Medicine, Universidad Espíritu Santo - Ecuador, Guayaquil, Ecuador, oscardelbrutto@hotmail.com.
Oscar H
OH
Del Brutto
Robertino M
RM
Mera
Mauricio
M
Zambrano
Victor J
VJ
Del Brutto
Pablo R
PR
Castillo
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D004484:Ecuador / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012890:Sleep