Association between sleep duration and stroke prevalence in Korean adults: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES: Although sleep, chronic disease and its related mortality are extensively studied areas, the association between stroke and sleep duration is relatively unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between long and short sleep duration and stroke prevalence. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Adult surveyees (aged ≥19 years) who answered items relating to sleep duration and stroke in the 2010–2014 Korean National Health and Nutrition Surveys (n=17 601). OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were divided into three groups by sleep duration (short: ≤6 hours/day, normal: 7–8 hours/day and long: ≥9 hours/day). Stroke prevalence in each sleep duration group was compared using logistic regression analysis, and sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, lifestyle habits and mental health factors were set as confounding variables. RESULTS: On adjusting for sex and age, each sleep-duration group displayed significantly different health-related characteristics. The short sleep and long sleep duration groups indicated significantly higher psychological factors for stress perception, depressive symptoms and psychiatric counselling compared with the normal sleep duration group. On adjustment of various confounders, the long sleep duration group demonstrated significantly higher ORs for stroke compared with the normal sleep duration group (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.06 to 3.61). Also, when stratified by sex, men did not exhibit differences in stroke prevalence by sleep duration, but women showed higher stroke prevalence in the long sleep duration group compared with normal sleep duration (OR 2.94, 95% CI 1.21 to 7.17). CONCLUSIONS: Longer sleep duration was associated with higher stroke prevalence, and this trend was more pronounced in women.