2007 Final Program - Society of Behavioral Medicine

SOCIETY of BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE
Rapid Communications Posters Thursday, March 22, 2007 • 6:30 PM-8:00 PM • Poster Session B
2440
THE EFFECT OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION ON BLOOD
PRESSURE IN PERSONS AT RISK FOR HYPERTENSION
James A. McCubbin, PhD and June J. Pilcher, PhD
Department of Psychology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
In the past decade, both sleep deprivation and hypertension have
become increasingly prevalent, yet the potentially important
relationship between them has not been well characterized. The
current study seeks to clarify the causal pathways between sleep loss
and hypertension by examining the effects of sleep deprivation in
persons at enhanced risk for hypertension development.
Fifty one normal young adult men and women were exposed to a
30 hour period of total sleep deprivation in a sustained operations
laboratory. Family medical history and demographics were obtained
at the beginning of the test period. Subjects worked on variety of
cognitive and vigilance challenges throughout the duration of the
study. Oscillometric blood pressures were obtained between 6:30
PM on Day 1 and noon on Day 2 using Dinamap Vital Signs
Monitors. Resting blood pressures were determined in four blocks
of five readings each.
Subjects were divided into two groups based on reported parental
history of hypertension. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were
analyzed by time, history, and sex. Results indicated a significant
interaction between time and parental history of hypertension for
diastolic blood pressure [F(3,44)=3.545, p