Healthy sleep habits may reduce risk of asthma development: Study
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The reason for the occurrence of Asthma in some people while leaving others unaffected has always been elusive to scientists. However, a recent study shows that there is something your sleeping pattern could contribute to reducing the risk of Asthma.
It has been estimated that about 300 million people suffer from Asthma in the world. The study published in the journal BMJ Open Respiratory Research says that poor sleep patterns could double the chance of developing asthma in people who are genetically susceptible to respiratory illness.
The study suggests that sound sleep could help reduce the risk of asthma significantly, pointing out that the early detection and addressing the sleep disorders could also lessen the chance, irrespective of genetic predisposition.
A group of researchers from Shandong University in China utilized data from the UK Biobank study to investigate a cohort of 455,405 individuals aged between 38 to 73. They constructed a risk model based on sleep traits and followed the participants for over a decade.
At the beginning of the study, the participants were asked about their sleeping patterns, such as their sleep duration, whether they were a morning person or a night owl, whether they snored, and if they experienced insomnia or excessive sleepiness during the day.
A healthy sleep pattern was defined as being more of a morning person, sleeping for seven to nine hours a night, and not experiencing insomnia, snoring, or frequent sleepiness during the day.
The genetic makeup of all participants was analysed, and an asthma risk score was created. The results showed that approximately one in three individuals had a high genetic risk of developing asthma, another third had an intermediate risk, and the remaining third had a low risk.
During the decade of follow-up, 17,836 people were diagnosed with asthma. Those with the highest genetic risk were 47% more likely to be diagnosed with asthma compared to those at low genetic risk. Individuals with poor sleep patterns were 55% more likely to be diagnosed with asthma than those at low genetic risk.
In those with high genetic risk, poor sleep patterns doubled the likelihood of being diagnosed with asthma compared to individuals with a healthy sleep pattern and low genetic risk. Meanwhile, a healthy sleep pattern decreased the risk of asthma by 44% in those with low genetic risk, 41% in those with intermediate risk, and 37% in those with high genetic risk.