Poor sleep patterns are linked to higher osteoporosis risk

In a study of 63,083 UK Biobank participants, researchers tracked sleep parameters and incident osteoporosis over a median 7.8-year follow-up. Accelerometers recorded sleep duration, regularity, and efficiency between 2013 and 2015, and investigators identified 1,349 incident cases of osteoporosis. Cox models adjusted for confounders showed that short sleep duration increased osteoporosis risk with a hazard ratio of 1.16, irregular sleep carried a hazard ratio of 1.21, and low sleep efficiency carried a hazard ratio of 1.23. The authors also evaluated genetic susceptibility. Participants with high genetic susceptibility and poor sleep showed the highest risk compared to those with low genetic risk and healthy sleep, with hazard ratios of 1.58 for short sleep, 1.86 for irregular sleep, and 1.57 for low sleep efficiency.