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Review
. 2022 Jun;20(3):202-212.
doi: 10.1007/s11914-022-00733-y. Epub 2022 Apr 30.

Sleep Disruption and Bone Health

Christine Swanson  1
Affiliations
Review

Sleep Disruption and Bone Health

Christine Swanson. Curr Osteoporos Rep. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Review recent literature investigating the relationship between bone health and sleep/circadian disruptions (e.g., abnormal sleep duration, night shift work).

Recent findings: Short and long sleep are associated with low bone mineral density (BMD). Recent data from observational studies identified an increased risk of fracture in women with short sleep. Studies suggest that age, sex, weight change, and concurrent circadian misalignment may modify the effects of sleep restriction on bone metabolism. Interventional studies demonstrate alterations in bone metabolism and structure in response to circadian disruption that could underlie the increased fracture risk seen with night shift work. The effects of sleep and circadian disruption during adolescence may have lifelong skeletal consequences if they adversely impact bone modeling. Data suggest that short sleep and night shift work negatively impact bone metabolism and health. Rigorous studies of prevalent sleep and circadian disruptions are needed to determine mechanisms and develop prevention strategies to optimize lifelong skeletal health.

Keywords: Adolescents; Bone mineral density (BMD); Bone turnover; Disrupted sleep; Fracture; Night shift work.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures/Conflicts of Interest: None

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Conceptual framework of the sleep-bone relationship with potential direct (outside) and indirect (inside) mechanisms
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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