Influence of quality of sleep in the first trimester on blood pressure in the third trimester in primipara women

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between decreased sleep quality during the first trimester and a rise in blood pressure during an otherwise normal course of pregnancy in primipara women.

Materials and methods: We recruited 128 pregnant women (primipara) who visited the obstetrics and gynecology clinic for medical examination, of which 89 were longitudinally investigated from the first to the third trimester after obtaining informed consent. A survey was conducted in the first, second, and third trimesters to evaluate sleep quality using the Japanese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-J). Patients were assigned to either a good sleep quality group (PSQI-J ≤ 5) or a poor sleep quality group (PSQI-J ≥ 6). Blood pressure was measured using a home blood pressure measurement method. We analyzed the relationship between sleep quality in the first trimester and blood pressure during pregnancy.

Results: The increase in morning systolic blood pressure from first to third trimester was larger in the poor sleep quality group than in the good sleep quality group (7.1 ± 7.0 vs. 3.0 ± 5.6 mmHg, p < .01). Sleep latency (r = 0.38, β = 0.43, p = .02) and sleep disturbances (r = 0.24, β = 0.33, p = .04) in the first trimester affected the increase in systolic blood pressure during pregnancy.

Conclusions: Understanding sleep quality at the beginning of pregnancy can help predict a rise in systolic blood pressure in the third trimester. This emphasizes the importance of sleep education during pregnancy.

Keywords:

• Home blood pressure measurement
• hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
• primipara PSQI-J
• sleep quality
• blood pressure

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.jp) for English language editing.

Disclosure statement

There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by research grants for young researchers (No. 44) from Japan Society of Private Colleges and Universities of Nursing in 2014. We appreciate the cooperation of the pregnant women who participated in this study, and Director Kazuhisa Masuko, Yoko Nagayoshi, chief nurses, ward staff, and outpatient staff of the institution who fully supported the investigation.