Emilsson and colleagues conducted a 10-year longitudinal study to determine of short or insufficient sleep were risk factors for new onset nocturnal gastroesophageal reflux (nGER).

In this study, adult women in Sweden answered questionnaires on sleep, nGER and other conditions on two separate occasions. There was a total of 6,790 participants at baseline, while there were 4,925 participants at follow-up. Short sleep referred to sleeping less than 6 hours per night and insufficient sleep referred to an average actual sleep duration of less than 80% of the self-estimated need for sleep duration but without short sleep.

nGER was characterized by the presence of heartburn or acid reflux after going to bed sometimes, often, or very often. The confounding factors, including age, body mass index, physical activity, smoking, alcohol dependence, caffeine consumption, depression, anxiety, and snoring, were defined from the questionnaire.

• At baseline, 839 participants reported short sleep and 1,079 participants were characterized as having insufficient sleep.
• Participants with insufficient sleep and short sleep reported nGER (26% and 17%, respectively) more often than people with sufficient sleep (10%).
• At follow-up, new onset of nGER was twice as common in people with insufficient or short sleep at baseline and follow-up, in comparison with individuals with sufficient sleep at baseline and follow-up. This held true even after adjustment for confounders (OR 2.0 (1.5-2.8)).

Insufficient sleep and short sleep were found to be linked with nGER. Persistent insufficient and/or short sleep led to an increase in the risk of developing nGER over a 10-year period.

Source: Emilsson ÖI, Al Yasiry H, Theorell-Haglöw J, et al. Insufficient sleep and new onset of nocturnal gastroesophageal reflux among women: a longitudinal cohort study. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022 Mar 3.