UCSF

Sleep disturbance is a key behavioral risk factor for chronic medical conditions observed at high rates among overweight and obese individuals. Systemic inflammation, including that induced by stress, may serve as a common biological mechanism linking sleep, adiposity, and disease risk. To investigate these relationships, 48 postmenopausal women (mean age=61.8) completed a standardized laboratory stress task during which time blood was collected at baseline and 30, 50 and 90+ min after stressor onset to assess circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, and IL-6/IL-10 ratio. Self-reported global sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) while adiposity was estimated by body mass index. Sagittal diameter was obtained in clinic to estimate visceral abdominal adiposity. Multi-level growth curve models revealed that poorer self-reported sleep quality was associated with greater stress-induced increases in IL-6/IL-10 ratio. In terms of adiposity, higher sagittal diameter, but not BMI, was associated with greater IL-6 reactivity (p's<0.05). Further, associations between sleep quality and cytokine reactivity varied as a function of sagittal diameter. Among poor sleepers (1 SD above mean of PSQI score), stress-induced increases in IL-6 and IL-6/IL-10 ratio were significantly steeper in those with high visceral adiposity (1 SD above the mean of sagittal diameter) compared to those with low visceral adiposity (1 SD below the mean of sagittal diameter). In sum, poorer sleep quality and greater visceral adiposity, separately and especially in combination, are associated with greater stress-related increases in systemic inflammation. This research may help elucidate the complex link between sleep, obesity and inflammatory disease risk.