Insufficient Sleep Associated with Increased Risk of SLE

In women, lack of sleep has been found to be linked to a statistically significant increased risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to a study published in Arthritis Care and Research.

The association between lack of sleep and an increased risk of autoimmune diseases has already been studied and established, however this new study, led by May Y. Choi MD, MPH, established the link between sleep deprivation and SLE.

“A challenge in studying sleep duration and SLE is that there may be many potential confounders and effect modifiers, including pain, depression, shiftwork, and hormonal status, that need to be considered,” the investigators reported. “Furthermore, sleep disturbances in established SLE are common, and active disease has been associated with sleep fragmentation, which in turn, may induce sleep deprivation.”

Using the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and NHS II cohorts, the large prospective cohort study included information extracted from biennial questionnaires about lifestyle, exposure, and medical history. The final study included 186,072 women with 187 incident SLE cases.

For the study, insufficient sleep was defined by less than or equal to 5 hours a night. Lack of sleep was associated to an elevated risk of SLE (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2.47, 95%CI), which sustained after the analysis lagged (4 years, adjusted HR 3.14, 95%CI) Concomitant issues such as depression and bodily pain were also identified in higher numbers when associated to lack of sleep. As a side note, the researchers observed that women who slept less also consumed less alcohol, exercised regularly and reported a history of shift work for 6 or more years.

"Our findings have implications for SLE prevention and the promotion of adequate sleep duration," the authors advised.

—Priyam Vora

Reference:
Choi, MY, Malspeis, S, Sparks, JA, Cui, J, Yoshida, K and Costenbader, KH. Association of sleep deprivation and the risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus among women. Arthritis Care Res. September 12, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.25017