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Dose-response associations of device-measured sleep regularity and duration with incident dementia in 82391 UK adults
Wenxin Bian, Raaj Kishore Biswas, Matthew N. Ahmadi, Yu Sun Bin, Svetlana Postnova, Andrew J. K. Phillips, Nicholas A. Koemel, Jean‐Philippe Chaput et al.. BMC Public Health, 2025-02-07
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Over a mean follow-up of 7.9 years, 694 incident dementia cases occurred. We observed a U-shaped association between sleep duration and incident dementia, with only short sleep (< 7 h) being significantly associated with a higher risk of dementia. The median sleep duration for short sleepers (< 7 h) of 6.5 h, compared to the reference point of 7.9 h was associated with HR of 1.19 (95%CI 1.01,1.40) for incident dementia. Sleep regularity was negatively associated with dementia risk in a near-linear fashion (linear p = 0.01, non-linear p = 0.57). When we dichotomized sleep regularity, those in the higher sleep regularity group (SRI ≥ 70) had an HR of 0.74 (95%CI 0.63, 0.87) compared to those with lower sleep regularity (SRI < 70). The beneficial associations between sleep regularity and incident dementia were present only among participants with short (< 7 h) and long (≥ 8 h) sleep duration. Assuming that the associations we observed are causal, maintaining a regular sleep pattern may help offset the deleterious association of inadequate sleep duration with dementia. Interventions aimed at improving sleep regularity may be a viable option for people not able to achieve the recommended hours of sleep.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Bian, W., Biswas, R. K., Ahmadi, M. N., Bin, Y. S., Postnova, S., Phillips, A. J. K., et al. (2025). Dose-response associations of device-measured sleep regularity and duration with incident dementia in 82391 UK adults. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21649-z
Vancouver
Bian W, Biswas RK, Ahmadi MN, Bin YS, Postnova S, Phillips AJK, et al. Dose-response associations of device-measured sleep regularity and duration with incident dementia in 82391 UK adults. BMC Public Health. 2025. doi:10.1186/s12889-025-21649-z. PMID: 39920677.
BibTeX
@article{bian2025-39920677,
author = {Bian, Wenxin and Biswas, Raaj Kishore and Ahmadi, Matthew N. and Bin, Yu Sun and Postnova, Svetlana and Phillips, Andrew J. K. and Koemel, Nicholas A. and Chaput, Jean‐Philippe and others},
title = {{Dose-response associations of device-measured sleep regularity and duration with incident dementia in 82391 UK adults}},
journal = {BMC Public Health},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1186/s12889-025-21649-z},
pmid = {39920677},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21649-z}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Over a mean follow-up of 7.9 years, 694 incident dementia cases occurred.
- We observed a U-shaped association between sleep duration and incident dementia, with only short sleep (< 7 h) being significantly associated with a higher risk of dementia.
- The median sleep duration for short sleepers (< 7 h) of 6.5 h, compared to the reference point of 7.9 h was associated with HR of 1.19 (95%CI 1.01,1.40) for incident dementia.
- Sleep regularity was negatively associated with dementia risk in a near-linear fashion (linear p = 0.01, non-linear p = 0.57).
- When we dichotomized sleep regularity, those in the higher sleep regularity group (SRI ≥ 70) had an HR of 0.74 (95%CI 0.63, 0.87) compared to those with lower sleep regularity (SRI < 70).
Why it matters
In this UK cohort, short sleep under 7 hours was linked to higher dementia risk, while more regular sleep was linked to lower risk. The authors say that if these associations are causal, keeping a regular sleep pattern might help offset the risks of not getting enough sleep.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants82,391
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC Public Health) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | BMC Public Health: journal h-index 289 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 82,391 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 15 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 15.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 15 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Emmanuel Stamatakis: h-index 85 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 39920677) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-21649-z
- PubMed: 39920677
- Original source →
- Free full text: BMC Public Health →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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