Revealing the association between sleep quality measured by electroencephalography at home and physical health parameters

Tsukuba, Japan—Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study of 100 adults aged 30 59 years who underwent sleep EEG measurements in their homes, alongside thorough health assessments, to systematically investigate the interplay between these variables.

Ten sleep parameters derived from the EEG data collected during the five-night home study were used to categorize participants into three groups—namely, the good sleep group (comprising 39 participants), the intermediate group (comprising 46 participants), and the poor sleep group (comprising 15 participants), utilizing the k-means++ clustering method, a form of unsupervised machine learning within the domain of artificial intelligence (AI). Then, researchers evaluated 50 physical health parameters across these groups. Statistically significant differences were observed in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, γ-GTP (a marker of liver function), and serum creatinine (a marker of kidney function). Of these, the differences in systolic blood pressure were particularly pronounced, consistently higher among participants of poor sleep group.

Furthermore, the study unveiled a weak correlation between objective sleep quality, as measured by EEG during sleep, and subjective sleep quality as assessed using the Athens Insomnia Scale. Notably, only objective sleep quality exhibited an association with systolic blood pressure. Additionally, the research identified specific combinations that displayed relatively strong correlations between the 10 EEG-derived sleep metrics and the 50 physical health parameters.

This study highlights the utility of home-based electroencephalography for the objective assessment of sleep quality, offering valuable applications in clinical practice and research endeavors.

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This work was supported by the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to M.Y., Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) JP21zf0127005 to M.Y. and T.K., and JP19dm0908001 and JP20dm0107162 to T.K., and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) 19 K08037 and 22K07571 to T.K.

_{Original Paper}

Title of original paper:
Association between electroencephalogram-based sleep characteristics and physical health in the general adult population

Journal:
Scientific Reports

DOI:
10.1038/s41598-023-47979-9

_{Correspondence}

Professor YANAGISAWA, Masashi
International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of Tsukuba

HIEI, Tetsuro
Executive Officer of S'UIMIN Inc.

Dr. TANAKA, Takeshi
Hospital Director of KRD Nihombashi

_{Related Link}

International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS)

About the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI)
The WPI program was launched in 2007 by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

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About International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (IIIS), University of Tsukuba
World-class institute for sleep medicine, aiming to solve the mechanism of sleep/wakefulness by conducting basic to translational research
The mission of IIIS is to be a multidisciplinary, international hub for the research to elucidate the function of sleep and the fundamental mechanisms of sleep/wake regulation, to elucidate molecular pathogenesis of sleep disorders and related diseases, to develop preventive measures, diagnostic methods, and treatments for sleep.