Inverse Relationship between Sleep Duration and Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index in Children

Aim: Poor sleep has been shown to be associated with the development of cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity, in both adults and children. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration and arterial stiffness indices in Japanese children and early adolescents. Methods: The data on 102 students (56 males, 46 females; mean age, 11.9 ± 1.8 years) were analyzed. As non-invasive arterial stiffness parameters, the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and heart-ankle pulse wave velocity (haPWV) were evaluated. Their students' sleep habits (bedtime and wake times on a usual weekday) were investigated using questionnaires, and based on these, their sleep durations were calculated. Results: The CAVI values in the males and females were 4.8 ± 0.9 and 4.7 ± 0.9 (arbitrary unit), respectively. haPWV values in the males and females were 5.5 ± 0.6 and 5.4 ± 0.6 m/s, respectively. Sleep duration in the males, but not in the females, was negatively correlated with CAVI (r = −0.356) and haPWV (r = −0.356), suggesting that students with short sleep duration could have increased arterial stiffness. After adjusting for confounders, such as age, sex, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, adiposity, and physical fitness, the correlation of sleep duration with CAVI, but not with haPWV, was still significant (partial r = −0.253, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that shorter sleep duration influences arterial stiffening even in childhood.