Actigraphy Measured Sleep Indices and Adiposity: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
To investigate the cross-sectional relationship between objectively measured sleep characteristics and multiple indices of adiposity in racially/ethnically diverse older adults within the MESA Sleep study (n = 2,146).



7-day actigraphy was used to assess sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and night-to-night variability. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and total body fat were modeled continuously and according to obesity cut-points. Models were adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral variables.



Participants who slept less than 6 hours a night had significantly higher BMI, waist circumference, and body fat relative to those who slept 7-8 hours. Those who slept less than 5 hours had a 16% higher prevalence of general obesity (BMI ≥ 30 vs. < 25 kg/m(2)) (95% [CI]: 0.08-0.24) and a 9% higher prevalence of abdominal obesity (waist circumference: women ≥ 88 centimeters, men ≥ 102 centimeters; 95% CI: 0.03-0.16) compared to those who slept 7-8 hours. Results were similar for sleep efficiency and night-to-night sleep variability.



Among an older multi-ethnic cohort, we found robust associations across multiple indices of sleep and adiposity. Targeting sleep characteristics may be of benefit in obesity interventions, but more research is needed to rule out reverse causality.
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
Rachel P
RP
Ogilvie
Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical School, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Susan
S
Redline
Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC.
Alain G
AG
Bertoni
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Xiaoli
X
Chen
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
Pamela
P
Ouyang
Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.
Moyses
M
Szklo
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
Pamela L
PL
Lutsey
D056044:Actigraphy; D050154:Adiposity / Q000502:physiology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000150:complications*; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000502:physiology
body mass index; obesity; sleep duration; sleep efficiency; waist circumference