Sleep status and blood pressure in a healthy normotensive female population

Sleeplessness can be linked to hypertension and its consequent complications such as cardiovascular disease. We investigated the cross-sectional relationship between blood pressure (BP) and self-reported sleep status among 227 healthy normotensive Japanese females (mean age: 47.0 years) in a clinical setting. Multiple logistic regression analysis for the highest quartile of diastolic BP (DBP) showed the body mass index (BMI) (odds ratio = 1.26 [95% confidence interval = 1.12–1.41]) and sleep status (sometimes lack: 2.19 [1.00–4.79], poor: 2.82 [1.17–6.80]) as significantly associated factors. The same analysis for systolic BP or pulse pressure showed that both age and BMI were significant factors and sleep status was not associated. A poorer sleep status may contribute to elevated DBP in healthy normotensive females.