Short and long sleep durations linked to elevated blood pressure and other risks in third trimester
FRIDAY, Oct. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Both short and long sleep durations during early pregnancy are associated with elevated blood pressure (BP) as well as increased risks of pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia during the third trimester, according to research published in the Oct. 1 issue of SLEEP.
In a prospective cohort study of 1,272 healthy pregnant women, Michelle A. Williams, of the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, and colleagues obtained antenatal BP values and estimated mean BP differences across hours of sleep categories.
Compared to women reporting sleep of nine hours, the investigators found that mean first- and second-trimester systolic and diastolic BP values were similar among women reporting ≤6 hours of sleep (short sleep duration). However, both short and long sleep duration (10 hours or more) in early pregnancy were linked to increased mean third-trimester systolic and diastolic BP as well increased risks of pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia.
"Whatever the mechanisms, the positive relationship between maternal habitual short and long sleep duration with third-trimester BP and preeclampsia risk was evident in our cohort," the authors write. "Taken together with previously published literature, these results suggest important health benefits of improved sleep hygiene before and during early pregnancy."