Scientists find link between lack of sleep, unemployment and heart disease

Researchers have found an association between people who are unemployed, uninsured, or do not have education beyond high school, lack of proper sleep, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The study on Asian Americans, including Asian Indian adults, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that the link between these unfavourable social determinants of health variables and cardiovascular disease risk factors varied widely among people in different subgroups.

However, the team researchers said that an association does not mean that social determinants of health directly caused the risk factor.

For the data, the team included data on 6,395 adults who self-identified as Asian. Of these, 22 per cent were Asian Indian adults.

Asian Indian adults reported a 20 per cent likelihood of suboptimal sleep; and a 42 per cent increased likelihood of insufficient physical activity -- major risk factors for heart disease.

The analysis also found that for all Asian groups, “a higher unfavourable social determinant of health score by one standardised unit was associated with a 14 per cent greater risk of high blood pressure; a 17 per cent greater risk of poor sleep; and a 24 per cent greater risk of Type 2 diabetes -- all of which increase the risk for developing cardiovascular disease.”

Lead author Eugene Yang, Professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle said: “Many social determinants of health are often interconnected, such as neighbourhood cohesion, economic stability and use of the health care system.”

“People of South Asian heritage have higher rates of premature heart disease globally, and they recently have been found to have higher cardiovascular mortality than non-Hispanic white people. A better understanding of why differences in cardiovascular risk exist among Asian subgroups is vital to reducing risk and improving outcomes,” Yang said.