Sex-specific association of sleep duration with subclinical indicators of metabolic diseases among asymptomatic adults

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence suggests sleep duration may be involved in metabolic regulation. However, studies regarding the association with the early stage of the metabolic disease are limited, and the findings were inconsistent. METHODS: A study among 4922 asymptomatic adults was conducted based on a Chinese national survey in 2009. The early stage of metabolic diseases was evaluated using three proxies: triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C), the product of triglyceride and fasting glucose (TyG), and lipid accumulation product (LAP). Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were used to explore the associations of sleep duration with the three indicators. RESULTS: The linear regression models revealed that, among females, sleep duration <7 h per day, compared with 7-9 h, was associated with an increased value of LAP and TyG by 25.232% (95%CI: 10.738%, 41.623%) and 0.104 (95%CI: 0.024, 0.185), respectively, in the crude model. The effects were attenuated but remained significant for LAP (11.405%; 95%CI: 1.613%, 22.262%). Similarly, the logistic regression models further found that sleep duration <7 h per day could increase the risk of elevated LAP (OR: 1.725, 95CI%:1.042, 2.856) after adjusting for multiple covariates. By contrast, no associations were found among males. CONCLUSIONS: Short sleep duration was associated with subclinical indicators of metabolic diseases, and females were more susceptible to the association. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12944-022-01626-w.