Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41033940›Full record

ArticleEBioMedicine2025

Poor sleep health is associated with older brain age: the role of systemic inflammation.

Yuyang Miao, Jiao Wang, Xuerui Li, Jie Guo, Maria M Ekblom, Shireen Sindi, Qiang Zhang, Abigail Dove

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in EBioMedicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Metabolic syndrome is associated with accelerated brain aging.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
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  9. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Yuyang MiaoDepartment of Geriatrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China; Department of Medicine (Huddinge), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Jiao WangAging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Xuerui LiDepartment of Geriatrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Jie GuoAging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Nutrition and Health, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
Maria M EkblomDepartment of Physical Activity and Health, Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden; Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Shireen SindiDivision of Clinical Geriatrics, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Ageing Epidemiology Research Unit (AGE), School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK.
Qiang ZhangDepartment of Geriatrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Abigail DoveAging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: abigail.dove@ki.se.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPoor-quality sleep has been linked to increased dementia risk. We investigated the relationship between healthy sleep pattern and older brain age, and the extent to which this is mediated by systemic inflammation.

methodsThe study included 27,500 adults from the UK Biobank (mean age 54.7 y, 54.0% female). The presence of five self-reported healthy sleep characteristics (early chronotype, 7-8 h daily sleep, no insomnia, no snoring, no excessive daytime sleepiness) were summed into a healthy sleep score (0-5 pts) and used to define three sleep patterns: healthy (≥4 pts), intermediate (2-3 pts), and poor (≤1 pt). Low-grade inflammation was estimated using the INFLA-score, a composite index of inflammatory biomarkers. After a mean follow-up of 8.9 y, brain age was estimated using a machine learning model based on 1079 brain MRI phenotypes and used to calculate brain age gap (BAG; i.e., brain age minus chronological age). Data were analysed using linear regression and generalised structural equation models.

findingsAt baseline, 898 (3.3%) participants had poor sleep, 15,283 (55.6%) had intermediate sleep, and 11,319 (41.2%) had healthy sleep. Compared to healthy sleep, intermediate (β = 0.25 [0.11, 0.40], P = 0.010) and poor (β = 0.46 [0.05, 0.87], P < 0.001) sleep were associated with significantly higher BAG. In mediation analysis, INFLA-score mediated 6.81% and 10.42% of the associations between intermediate and poor sleep and higher BAG.

interpretationPoor sleep health may accelerate brain ageing. This may be driven by higher levels of systemic inflammation.

fundingAlzheimerfonden; Demensfonden; Loo and Hans Osterman Foundation for Medical Research; the Knowledge Foundation; Swedish Research Council.

Indexed as

AgingBrainInflammationSleepSleep Wake DisordersAgedBiomarkersFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedUnited KingdomBiomarkersBrain ageInflammationMagnetic resonance imagingSleepUK Biobank

Identifiers

PMID41033940
PMCPMC12571578

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.