Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2021 Oct 21;106(11):e4414-e4426.
doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgab474.

Sleep Habits of Women With Infertility

Esther Eisenberg  1 , Richard S Legro  2 , Michael P Diamond  3 , Hao Huang  4 , Louise M O'Brien  5   6 , Yolanda R Smith  5 , Christos Coutifaris  7 , Karl R Hansen  8 , Nanette Santoro  9 , Heping Zhang  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Sleep Habits of Women With Infertility

Esther Eisenberg et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. .

Abstract

Context: Sleep plays important roles in metabolic and reproductive function, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with sleep disturbances, including increased prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea.

Objective: We sought to evaluate sleep parameters in infertile women with PCOS compared with women with unexplained infertility (UI) and identify risk factors for disturbed sleep.

Methods: At private and academic ambulatory gynecology and infertility practices, we evaluated a prospective cohort of women diagnosed with PCOS or UI from 2 randomized clinical trials. We included 1603 infertile women enrolled in 2 concurrent randomized clinical trials. The main outcome measures were self-reported sleep measures.

Results: Sleep duration <6 hours (6.1% vs 2.7%; P < .001), habitual snoring (37.8% vs 19.0%; P < .001), and clinical sleepiness (12.0% vs 8.6%; P < .026) were more common in women with PCOS than those with UI. After adjusting for covariates, PCOS and elevated fasting insulin were associated (P = .010) with clinical symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) diagnosis, whereas PCOS, elevated insulin (P = .003), WC >88 cm (P = .003), and current smoking (P = .012) were associated with habitual snoring. Clinical depression score (P < .001) and PCOS diagnosis (P = .002) were associated with perceived daytime sleepiness. Short sleep duration and clinical symptoms of OSA were not associated with conception and live birth rates.

Conclusion: Infertile women with PCOS more commonly report sleep disturbances than those with UI. Markers of insulin resistance are associated with previous diagnosis of OSA, habitual snoring, and short sleep duration. The presence of clinical symptoms of OSA or short sleep duration does not affect fertility treatment response.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00719186 NCT01044862.

Keywords: PCOS; sleep apnea; sleep-disordered breathing; snoring; unexplained infertility.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Pamidi S, Pinto LM, Marc I, Benedetti A, Schwartzman K, Kimoff RJ. Maternal sleep-disordered breathing and adverse pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and metaanalysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2014;210(1):52.e1-52.e14. - PubMed
    1. Lateef OM, Akintubosun MO. Sleep and reproductive health. J Circadian Rhythms. 2020;18:1. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kloss JD, Perlis ML, Zamzow JA, Culnan EJ, Gracia CR. Sleep, sleep disturbance, and fertility in women. Sleep Med Rev. 2015;22:78-87. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Willis SK, Hatch EE, Wise LA. Sleep and female reproduction. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2019;31(4):222-227. - PubMed
    1. Warland J, Dorrian J, Morrison JL, O’Brien LM. Maternal sleep during pregnancy and poor fetal outcomes: A scoping review of the literature with meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2018;41:197-219. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Associated data