Plasma cortisol levels in Brazilians college students with poor sleep quality

Abstract Aim To investigate the association between sleep quality in Brazilian university students and plasma cortisol levels. Method A cross-sectional study conducted with 688 university students assessing sociodemographic indicators, quality of sleep and cortisol levels. We used Poisson robust regression to assess the association. Results Approximately 95% and 7% of the sample showed poor sleep quality and high levels of cortisol, respectively. These lingered 16-30 minutes to fall asleeep (p = 0.030), with 65-74% efficiency (p = 0.021) and greater workload those with normal levels of cortisol (p = 0.021). The chances of a college student, with high plasma cortisol levels, to present poor sleep quality were similar to good sleepers and with no significant statistical significance (p = 0.124). Conclusion There was no statistically significant association between plasma cortisol levels of and quality of sleep in college students.

摘要 目的：探讨巴西大学生睡眠质量与血浆皮质醇水平的关联。方法：本研究为横断面研究，纳入688名大学生，对其社会人口学特征、睡眠质量及血浆皮质醇水平进行评估，采用稳健泊松回归分析二者的关联。结果：约95%的样本存在睡眠质量不佳的情况，7%的样本皮质醇水平偏高。睡眠质量不佳者入睡潜伏期为16~30分钟（p=0.030）、睡眠效率为65%~74%（p=0.021），且学业负担较皮质醇水平正常者更高（p=0.021）。血浆皮质醇水平偏高的大学生出现睡眠质量不佳的概率与睡眠质量良好者相近，无显著统计学差异（p=0.124）。结论：本研究未发现大学生血浆皮质醇水平与睡眠质量之间存在具有统计学意义的关联。