Sleep duration, weekend catch-up sleep, and risk of obstructive sleep apnea in relation to handgrip strength.

Purpose: This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate whether weekday sleep duration, weekend catch-up sleep, and risk of obstructive sleep apnea are individually and in combination associated with handgrip strength.

Methods: Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2019, including weekday sleep duration, weekend catch-up sleep, STOP-BANG scores, relative handgrip strength (handgrip strength divided by body mass index), and confounding factors (sociodemographic factors, health behaviors, and health and nutritional status), were evaluated in 3678 Korean adults aged 40 to 80 years. Adequate (vs. inadequate) sleep parameters were defined as weekday sleep duration (6-7 vs. ≤ 5 or ≥ 8 h), weekend catch-up sleep (presence vs. absence), and risk of obstructive sleep apnea (low vs. high based on STOP-BANG scores). Sex-specific quintiles of relative handgrip strength were categorized as high (highest 5th quintile) or low (lower 1st to 4th quintiles). A complex-sample logistic regression analysis was performed.

Results: After adjusting for other sleep parameters and confounding variables, each adequate sleep parameter individually and collectively was associated with high relative handgrip strength (adjusted odds ratios [95% confidence interval], 1.43 [1.09, 1.89] for 6-7 h weekday sleep duration; 1.44 [1.10, 1.90] for low risk of obstructive sleep apnea; 1.72 [1.23, 2.40] for any two parameters; 1.81 [1.18, 2.79] for all parameters). The combination of adequate weekend catch-up sleep and obstructive sleep apnea risk had the highest odds ratio for high relative handgrip strength (2.36 [1.45, 3.83]).

Conclusions: Adequate weekday sleep duration, weekend catch-up sleep, and low obstructive sleep apnea risk were individually and in combination associated with high handgrip strength.