Sleep duration and abnormal serum lipids: the China Health and Nutrition Survey

•The associations between sleep duration and serum lipids were analyzed in a general Chinese population.•Both shorter and longer sleep duration were associated with higher risks of abnormal serum lipid profiles in women.•These associations were not significant in men.

ObjectiveTo examine the associations between sleep duration and total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), and lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)].MethodsThe present study analyzed 8574 adults from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (2009). Sleep duration was classified into ⩽6, 7, 8, 9, and ⩾10 h. Age, education, occupation, current smoking, current drinking, physical activity, body mass index, hypertension, and diabetes were adjusted as confounders in gender-stratified multiple logistic regression models.ResultsCompared with women reporting 8 h sleep duration, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of high TC for those with ⩽6, 7, 9, and ⩾10 h were 1.65 (1.32–2.06), 1.19 (1.00–1.43), 1.11 (0.89–1.39), and 1.27 (1.02–1.60) after adjusting for confounders. Likewise, the ORs (95% CIs) of high LDL-C were 1.71 (1.28–2.29), 1.36 (1.05–1.76), 1.04 (0.74–1.46), and 1.09 (0.78–1.53), whereas those of high ApoB were 1.80 (1.34–2.42), 1.15 (0.88–1.52), 0.95 (0.66–1.35), and 1.00 (0.70–1.43) for women with ⩽6, 7, 9, and ⩾10 h sleep duration, respectively. These associations were not statistically significant in men.ConclusionsBoth shorter and longer sleep durations were associated with higher risks of abnormal serum lipid profiles in women but not in men.