Artery calcification more common in night owls, shows study

Medical Xpress / Sahlgrenska Academy / Sleep Medicine ^ | Dec. 21, 2023 | Mio Kobayashi Frisk et al

[ConservativeMind]

Artery calcification is almost twice as common in night owls compared to early birds, according to a study. Circadian rhythm appears to be particularly important for the heart and blood vessels during the early stages of the disease.

Artery calcification, or atherosclerosis as it is also known, involves fatty deposits accumulating on the inside of the arteries, making it harder for blood to pass through.

The study, involved 771 men and women aged between 50 and 64, all of whom are part of the larger population study SCAPIS.

The degree of artery calcification in the heart's coronary arteries was examined using computer tomography. Participants themselves indicated their so-called chronotype on a five-point scale: extreme morning type, morning type to some extent, neither morning nor evening type, evening type to some extent, or extreme evening type.

Of the 771 participants, 144 identified as extreme morning types, and 128 as extreme evening types. Among the group who were most alert in the morning, 22.2% had pronounced artery calcification—the lowest proportion of all five chronotypes. The extreme evening type group had the highest incidence of severe coronary artery calcification, at 40.6%.

First author of the study is Mio Kobayashi Frisk. "Our results indicate that the extreme evening chronotype may be linked not only to poorer cardiovascular health in general, but also more specifically to coronary artery calcification and to the process that leads to artery calcification," Frisk says.

Each chronotype can be said to have an average time when half of the night's sleep has passed. In a previous study on the same population, though not necessarily the same individuals, this time occurred at 02:55 AM for the extreme morning type group and at 04:25 AM for the extreme evening type group. The remaining chronotype groups' mid-sleep times were between.

[Beowulf9]

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[DennisR]

Thanks!

[DennisR]

Thanks! Just trying to take preventative measures. 👍🏻👍🏻

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Very wise