BEIJING,
March 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Relatively healthy individuals with sleep disruptions at
night may have an increased risk associated with development of a blood
clot, also referred to as a thrombus, according news
reports quoting medical journal Chest Wednesday.
"There is an extensive literature demonstrating that
sleep disruption is associated with increased coronary artery disease risk, but
the possible mechanism for that association has been unclear," said lead author
Dr. Joel E. Dimsdale, of the University of California San Diego.
"In previous work, we have found that sleep
disruption was associated with pro-coagulant activity in patients with
obstructive sleep apnea and in patients facing major life stress," he continued.
"The current study reports similar findings even in a relatively healthy
population."
Dimsdale and colleagues examined whether sleep
disruptions were associated with increased levels of prothrombotic factors
previously shown to predict the risk of coronary artery disease.
A polysomnograph, conducted in a sleep laboratory,
involved the measurement of brain waves to record sleep cycles and stages, plus
monitoring muscle activity, eye movement, breathing rate, blood pressure, blood
oxygen levels and heart rate. The patient was also directly observed during
sleep.
A total of 135 unmedicated subjects with an
average of 37 years in age, without a history of sleep disorders underwent
full-night polysomnography. The researchers also recorded blood levels of
factors associated with blood clotting and oxygen saturation. In their analyses,
they accounted for the effects of age, gender, ethnicity, body mass index, blood
pressure, and smoking history.
The investigators found that a higher score on total
arousal index and longer periods of wakefulness interrupting sleep were
associated with higher levels of the von Willebrand Factor antigen and soluble
tissue factor antigen, respectively, both of which are linked with blood
coagulation.
An association was also observed between average
oxygen saturation levels of less than 90 percent and the plasminogen activator
inhibitor antigen, also involved in coagulation, although this relationship was
not statistically significant.
(Agencies)
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