Cardiometabolic risk factors and social jetlag in university professors

Chronic stress leads to circadian disruption, with variability in sleep time and duration. This scenario increases the prevalence and incidence of cardiometabolic abnormalities. Social jetlag (SJL), a proxy of circadian disruption, has been associated with increased vulnerability to the development of metabolic syndrome, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. This research aimed to evaluate how variables associated with cardiometabolic risk are related to SJL and poor sleep among university professors. From 2018 to 2019, full-time university professors (n=103) with a mean age of 44±5.4 years were assessed for sleep quality, chronotype, SJL, metabolic components, sociodemographic characteristics, and physical evaluation. Sleep quality and weekday sleep duration were associated with stress (r=0.44 and r=-0.34) and anxiety (r=0.40), respectively. Mean sleep duration (n=65) was 7.0±1.1 h and all professors with poor sleep (41.2%; n=28) worked 40 h/week. Professors who slept less were significantly (r=-0.25) older, and teaching time (years) was positively correlated with blood glucose (r=0.42). Mean SJL was 59.8 ±4.5 min (n=68) and 48.5% of these professors had values ≤1 h and 51.4% ≥1 h. SJL and blood glucose concentration were associated (r=0.35), which reinforced that challenges to the circadian system reverberate on metabolism. In this study, professors at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte had cardiometabolic risks related to anxiety, stress, and sleep quality.

Association with Social Jetlag and Time Preference of Migraine Attack: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate association between presence of time preference of headache attack and social jetlag and circadian preference in patients with migraine with or without aura. METHODS: A total of 50 patients of migraine with or without aura who visited for the first time at a single tertiary medical center were examined and interviewed about their sleep pattern on weekdays and weekends and whether they have time preference of headache attack during a day or not. Frequency of headache and measurement for disability of headache such as six-item Headache Impact Test and other sleep profiles such as sleep duration, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and insomnia severity were obtained by a booklet of questionnaire. RESULTS: In this pilot study, the time preference of migraine attack during a day was present in 42% among the participants. In the cross-sectional analysis, the group of presence of time preference of attack showed earlier circadian preference (1:36 am±282 min vs. 4:24 am±186 min, p=0.02) and lower social jetlag than the other group (0.4±0.8 hour vs. 1.4±2.2 hour, p=0.04). Other demographic characteristics and frequency and severity of headache was comparable between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Considering an individual circadian preference might be a strategy in integrated management of migraine.