Associations between sleep duration, sleep quality and high sensitivity C-reactive protein among medical students of a medical college in Chhattisgarh, India

Abstract

Background: Recent studies in human have indicated possible pathophysiologic mechanisms to support the biologic plausibility of an association between sleep deprivation and future cardiovascular risk. In addition, emerging evidence suggests that inflammatory markers are elevated in sleep-deprived individuals. However, the relationship between sleep duration and inflammatory markers is still unclear.The aim of this study was to investigate associations between self-reported sleep duration, sleep quality, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels among medical students of a medical college in Chhattisgarh, India. Materials and Methods: A total of 150 Students (94 male, 56 female) of Government Medical College, Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh in the age group of 20 to 30 years were randomly enrolled in the present study. Blood samples were analyzed for fasting blood glucose and hs-CRP. Sleep duration and sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Results: In the present study, a significant variation in serum hs-CRP levels with different sleep categories was observed (P<0.0001), with the hs-CRP levels being highest (Mean ± SD; 1.13±0.85 mg/L) in short duration (<6 hours) followed by long duration (>8hours) sleepers (Mean± SD; 0.79±0.41mg/L). In both linear and logistic regression analysis model adjusted for various risk factors for cardiovascular disease, short sleep duration was significantly associated with elevated serum hs-CRP levels. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that in¬flammatory mechanisms may play a role in the cardiovascular risk associated with sleep deprivation.