The following is a summary of “Associations of sleep disorders with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in cancer survivors: a cross-sectional analysis of the NHANES 2005–2016,” published in the February 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Nong et al.
The circadian clock and endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling contribute to cancer development, while sleep disorders are linked to higher mortality risk. Yet, the connection between sleep disorders and mortality in cancer patients remains poorly understood.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to prospectively examine the correlation between sleep disorders and all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease mortality in individuals with cancer.
They evaluated 3187 cancer participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2016 cohorts, tracking them over a median follow-up period of 83.0 months. Adjusted HR and 95% CI were estimated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models.
The results showed that sleep disorders were linked to a higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR 1.23, 95%CI: 1.06,1.42), cancer mortality (HR 1.30, 95%CI: 1.02, 1.66), and cardiovascular disease mortality (HR 1.35, 95%CI: 1.02, 1.80). Upon gender stratification, significantly elevated HRs were observed in men (P<0.05) but not in women. The association between sleep disorders and increased long-term mortality remained significant even after excluding individuals who died within 2 years of follow-up. The HRs for long-term all-cause mortality were 1.24 (95%CI: 1.07, 1.45) in model I and 1.20 (95%CI: 1.02, 1.42) in model II. For long-term cancer mortality, the HR in model I was (95%CI: 1.00, 1.74), and for long-term CVD mortality, it was 1.5 (95%CI:1.12, 2.02) in model I and 1.45 (95%CI: 1.06, 1.99) in model II.
Investigators concluded that cancer patients with sleep disorders faced significantly higher risks of overall and cancer-specific death, highlighting the need for widespread sleep screening and better integration of sleep health into cancer care, especially for men.
Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-024-05589-3
