Although sleep disruption has been studied extensively in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, its link with chronic kidney disease is unclear. To investigate, researchers led by Ciaran Joseph McMullan (Brigham and Women's Hospital) analyzed information on 4238 participants from the Nurses' Health Study with kidney function measurements on at least 2 occasions over an 11-year period.

The researchers found that shorter sleep duration was significantly linked with a more rapid decline in kidney function. As an example, women sleeping ≤5 hours per night had a 65% increased likelihood of experiencing a rapid decline in kidney function compared with women sleeping 7 to 8 hours per night, after controlling for various factors.

“This is the first prospective study to find that shorter sleep duration is associated with a more rapid decline in renal function,” said Dr. McMullan. “The findings of this paper coupled with research from others suggest that renal physiology may be adversely affected by disruption in sleep, including sleep restriction.”