Sleep duration is significantly associated with carotid artery atherosclerosis incidence in a Japanese population

Abstract Background Previous studies have indicated that sleep duration is associated with total mortality in a U-shaped fashion. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between self-reported sleep duration and carotid artery atherosclerosis in a Japanese population. Methods In 2009–2010, a total of 2498 participants (1195 men, 1303 women; age range, 23–92 years) were recruited from members of a Japanese community receiving annual health check-up at a local health center who agreed to participate in the study. Exclusion criteria were as follows: age Results Sleep duration ≥7 h correlated significantly with the incidence of IMT ≥ 1.2 mm when compared with a sleep duration of 6 h (multivariate-adjusted odds ratio, 1.263; 95% confidence interval, 1.031–1.546, P  = 0.024). Shorter sleep duration ≤5 h did not correlate significantly with the risk compared with a sleep duration of 6 h. Conclusion Long sleep duration (≥7 h) correlated significantly with the incidence of carotid artery atherosclerosis compared with a sleep duration of 6 h, but shorter sleep duration did not.