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Sex differences in sympathetic neural responses to 24‐hour sleep deprivation in humans
Author(s) -
Yang Huan,
Durocher John J,
Larson Robert A,
DellaValla Joseph P,
Carter Jason R
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.893.12
Subject(s) - baroreflex , blood pressure , microneurography , medicine , sleep deprivation , heart rate , endocrinology , testosterone (patch) , sympathetic nervous system , diastole , circadian rhythm
Sleep deprivation has been linked to hypertension, and recent evidence suggests that associations between sleep deprivation and hypertension are stronger in women. We hypothesized that 24‐hour total sleep deprivation (TSD) would elicit augmented pressor and sympathetic neural responses in women compared to men. Resting heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) were measured in 30 healthy subjects (age, 22±1 yr; 15 men and 15 women). Relations between diastolic BP and MSNA were used to assess sympathetic baroreflex function. Subjects were studied twice, once after normal sleep and once after TSD (randomized, crossover design). TSD elicited similar increases in BP in men and women. TSD reduced MSNA in men (25±2 to 16±3 bursts/100 heart beats; P=0.02), but not women. TSD did not alter sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity in either sex, but the operating point was shifted downward and rightward in men (40±4 to 27±7 units; P=0.03). TSD reduced testosterone in men, and these changes were correlated to changes in resting MSNA (r=0.59, p=0.04). Resting HR and estradiol were not altered by TSD in either sex. In conclusion, TSD‐induced hypertension occurs in both sexes, but only men demonstrate altered resting MSNA. The sex differences in MSNA are associated with sex differences in sympathetic baroreflex function (i.e., operating point) and testosterone. Supported by NIH (HL‐ 098676).