Morning tiredness, insomnia tied to BP elevation among postmenopausal women

Postmenopausal women with elevated levels of evening blood pressure (BP) appear to experience morning tiredness and insomnia, as reported in a study.

The study included 64 healthy premenopausal women aged 45–47 years. Researchers collected participant data at baseline and at the 10-year follow-up during sleep laboratory and laboratory visits. A sleep questionnaire was used to evaluate sleep quality and insomnia symptoms.

At baseline, the mean age was 46 years, the mean BMI was 26.4 kg/m², and the mean serum follicle-stimulating hormone level was 7.4 IU/L. Over the 10-year follow-up, the participants gained weight and FEV1 decreased. Insomnia symptoms decreased in 17 women, remained unchanged in 12, increased in 26, and could not be evaluated in nine due to missing values.

Multiple linear and logistic regression analysis showed that a change in insomnia symptoms was associated with a change in morning systolic BP (β, 0.114, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.023–0.205; p=0.016).

At follow-up, with the median age being 56.8 years, a higher percentage of REM sleep was associated with lower odds of restless sleep (odds ratio [OR], 0.842, 95 percent CI, 0.742–0.954; p=0.007). Meanwhile, both higher systolic and diastolic evening BP were associated with greater odds of morning tiredness (OR, 1.047, 95 percent CI, 1.003–1.092; p=0.034 and OR, 1.126, 95 percent CI, 1.018–1.245; p=0.007, respectively).