Table 1.
Studies examining sleep duration and longitudinal risk of developing obesity
| First author, year (Ref.) | Population | n (% men) | Baseline age (yr) | Follow-up (yr) | Sleep assessed by | Normal sleep reference (h) | Obesity definition | Short sleep reference (h) | Adjusted risk of future obesity | Average weight gain per yr follow-up in short sleepers | Longitudinal effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hasler, 2004 (57) | Zurich Cohort study, Switzerlanda | 496 (50%) | 27 | 13 | Self-report at each timepoint | n/a | BMI ≥30 kg/m2 | <6 | OR (95% CI) = 8.2 (1.9, 36.3); P < 0.01 | Not reported | Short sleep predicted weight gain |
| Gangwisch, 2005 (20) | NHANES I population study, United States | 3,682 (32%) | 32–49 | 8–10 | Self-report at baseline | 7 | BMI ≥30 kg/m2 | 2–4 | 2–4 h, OR (95% CI), men = 2.51 (0.83, 7.53); women = 2.34 (1.24, 4.41) | Approximate ↑ BMI in 2–4 h = 0.16 kg/m2/yr (sd, 0.38) | Small and statistically insignificant effect of short sleep on weight gain |
| Patel, 2006 (58) | Nurses Health study, United States | 68,183 (0%) | 39–65 | 16 or to age 65 | Self-report at baseline | 7 | BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 or weight gain ≥15 kg | ≤5 | Obesity, HR (95% CI) = 1.15 (1.04, 1.27); weight gain, HR (95% CI) = 1.28 (1.15, 1.42) | ↑ Weight gain in ≤5 h = 0.05 kg/yr (95% CI, 0.008, 0.09) | Short sleep predicted weight gain |
| Lopez-Garcia, 2008 (44) | Spanish population cohort, >60 yr of age | 2,335 (46%) | Mean, 70.7 ± 7.2 | 2 | Self-report at baseline | 7 | ≥5 kg weight gain | ≤5 | Weight gain, OR (95% CI), men = 0.58 (0.20, 1.62); P = 0.34; women = 3.41 (1.34, 8.69); P = 0.02 | No overall association between sleep duration and weight gain | Short and long sleep predicted weight gain in females only |
| Stranges, 2008 (115) | Whitehall II study, British white civil servants | 4,378 (∼70%) | 47–67 | 7 | Self-report at each timepoint | 7 | BMI ≥30 kg/m2 or overweight (≥25 kg/m2 ) | ≤5 | Obesity, OR (95% CI) = 1.05 (0.60, 1.82), P = ns; overweight, OR (95% CI) = 1.28 (0.80, 2.06), P = ns | Nonsignificant ↓ ΔBMI = 0.06 kg/m2/yr (95% CI, −0.26, 0.14; P = ns) | None |
| Chaput, 2008 (47) | Quebec Family Study, Canada | 276 (42%) | 21–64 | 6 | Self-report at each timepoint | 7–8 | BMI ≥30 kg/m2 | 5–6 | Obesity, ↑ by 27% (P < 0.05); 5 kg weight gain, ↑ by 35% (P < 0.05) | ↑ Weight gain in 5–6 h compared to 7–8 h, 0.31 kg/yr (95% CI, 0.18–0.44); P < 0.05 | Short and long sleep predicted weight gain |
| Lauderdale, 2009 (54) | CARDIA sleep study, Chicago, IL | 612 (45%) | 33–45 | 5 | 72-h actigraphy at baseline and follow-up | n/a | n/a | <4.5 | Not reported | Approximate ↑ BMI in <4.5 h = 0.23 kg/m2/yr | None |
| Watanabe, 2010 (46) | Japanese electric power company employees | 35,247 (89%) | Mean, 40 ± 9.6 (M), 38 ± 9.0 (F) | 1 | Self-report at each timepoint | 7–8 | BMI ≥25 kg/m2 | <5 | OR (95% CI), men = 1.91 (1.36, 2.67), P < 0.001; women = 0.35 (0.05, 2.69), P = 0.31 | ΔBMI, men = ↑ 0.016 kg/m2/yr (95% CI 0.024, 0.146; P < 0.01); women = ↑ 0.010 kg/m2/yr (95% CI, −0.108, 0.194; P = 0.57) | Short and long sleep predicted weight gain in males only |
| Hairston, 2010 (45) | IRAS family study, 3 U.S. communities of African-Americans and Hispanics | 1,107 (38%) | 18–81 (mean 41.7) | 5 | Self-report at baseline | 6–7 | n/a | ≤5 | Not reported | ↑ BMI in ≤5 h, <40 yr = 0.52 kg/m2/yr; P < 0.0001; >40 yr = 0.15 kg/m2/yr; P = 0.38 | Short and long sleep predicted weight gain in <40 yr only |
| Nishiura, 2010 (59) | Japanese gas company employees | 2,632 (100%) | 40–59 | 4 | Self-report at each timepoint | 7–7.9 | BMI ≥25 kg/m2 | <6 | OR (95% CI) = 2.46 (1.41, 4.31); P = 0.011 | Not reported | Short sleep predicted obesity |
IRAS, Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio; ns, not significant; n/a, not available; ↑, increase; ↓, decrease.
a
Study population oversampled for risk cases for psychiatric disorders.