Poor quality sleep may worsen kidney function

Not getting enough quality sleep may worsen renal function in patients with chronic kidney disease.
Although there is increasing evidence that sleep disorders are common in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), its link with CKD progression is unknown.
Researchers from University of Illinois at Chicago examined the sleep patterns of 432 adults with CKD.
Participants wore a wrist monitor for five to seven days to measure sleep duration and quality and their health was followed for a median of five years.
Participants slept an average of 6.5 hours per night, and during follow-up, 70 individuals developed kidney failure and 48 individuals died.

After adjusting for sociodemographic factors, body mass index, blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and baseline kidney function, each additional hour of nighttime sleep was linked with a 19 per cent lower risk of developing kidney failure.

There was also a significant association between sleep quality and kidney failure risk: each one per cent increase in sleep fragmentation was linked with a four per cent increase in the risk of developing kidney failure.
Also, patients who experienced daytime sleepiness were 10 per cent more likely to die during follow-up than those who were not sleepy during the day.
"Short sleep and fragmented sleep are significant, yet unappreciated risk factors for CKD progression," said Ana C Ricardo, from University of Illinois at Chicago.

"Our research adds to the accumulating knowledge regarding the importance of sleep on kidney function, and underscores the need to design and test clinical interventions to improve sleep habits in individuals with CKD," Ricardo said.