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Poor sleep is associated with higher plasma proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 and procoagulant marker fibrin D-dimer in older caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease
von Känel R, Dimsdale JE, Ancoli-Israel S, Mills PJ, Patterson TL, McKibbin CL, Archuleta C, Grant I.. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2006-03-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objectives To determine whether objective measures of sleep correlate with plasma levels of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 and the procoagulant marker fibrin D-dimer in caregivers of patients with dementia. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Subjects' homes. Participants Sixty-four community-dwelling spousal caregivers (69% women, mean age+/-standard deviation 72+/-9) and 36 sex-matched noncaregiving controls. Measurements All participants underwent in-home full-night polysomnography. Demographic and lifestyle factors, depression, diseases, and medication that could affect inflammation, coagulation, and sleep were controlled for in analyses regressing sleep variables and caregiver status and their interaction on plasma levels of IL-6 and D-dimer. Results Caregivers had higher levels of D-dimer (781+/-591 vs 463+/-214 ng/mL, P=.001) and IL-6 (1.42+/-1.52 vs 0.99+/-0.86 pg/mL, P Conclusion Poor sleep was associated with higher plasma IL-6 and D-dimer levels. These effects were most pronounced in caregivers of subjects with Alzheimer's disease. The findings suggest a mechanism that may explain how disturbed sleep might be associated downstream with cardiovascular risk, particularly in older people under chronic stress.
Key findings
- Results Caregivers had higher levels of D-dimer (781+/-591 vs 463+/-214 ng/mL, P=.001) and IL-6 (1.42+/-1.52 vs 0.99+/-0.86 pg/mL, P Conclusion Poor sleep was associated with higher plasma IL-6 and D-dimer levels.
Why it matters
In older caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease, poor sleep was associated with higher plasma levels of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 and the procoagulant marker fibrin D-dimer. This suggests a mechanism that may explain how disturbed sleep might be linked to cardiovascular risk, particularly in older people under chronic stress.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 49/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: journal h-index 344 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 170 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.7 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 14.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 5 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 10 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Igor Grant: h-index 111 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California San Diego: institution h-index 1,852 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16551309) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 49 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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 names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
von Känel, R., Dimsdale, J. E., Ancoli-Israel, S., Mills, P. J., Patterson, T. L., McKibbin, C. L., et al. (2006). Poor sleep is associated with higher plasma proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 and procoagulant marker fibrin D-dimer in older caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.00642.x
Vancouver
von Känel R, Dimsdale JE, Ancoli-Israel S, Mills PJ, Patterson TL, McKibbin CL, et al. Poor sleep is associated with higher plasma proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 and procoagulant marker fibrin D-dimer in older caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2006. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.00642.x. PMID: 16551309.
BibTeX
@article{vonkanel2006-16551309,
author = {von Känel, R. and Dimsdale, J. E. and Ancoli-Israel, S. and Mills, P. J. and Patterson, T. L. and McKibbin, C. L. and Archuleta, C. and Grant, I.},
title = {{Poor sleep is associated with higher plasma proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 and procoagulant marker fibrin D-dimer in older caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.00642.x},
pmid = {16551309},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.00642.x}
}
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