# Sleep Disorders in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease: Frequency, Associations with Cardiovascular and Pain Indicators, and Responses to Treatment

> **NIH NIH U54** · HOWARD UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $194,337

## Abstract

Project Summary
This study examines the relationship of sleep disturbance with cardiovascular and pain indicators in patients
with sickle cell disease (SCD). Reduced sleep duration and sleep disordered breathing are strongly correlated
with hypertension and cardiovascular disease in the general population, and especially in African Americans.
In SCD, these adverse effects are anticipated to be further compounded by the sickling of red blood cells and
microvascular thrombosis unique to the disease. Despite extensive research currently exploring the physiologic
and epidemiologic linkage of sleep and cardiovascular disease in the general population, limited data exist in
SCD, particularly in adults. Similarly, while sleep quality is known to affect pain perception in many settings, it
is relatively unexplored in SCD. Patients presenting for routine follow-up at the Howard University Sickle Cell
Center will be invited to participate in this study. To assess disease burden and functional impairment, they
will be carefully characterized regarding medical background including severity of anemia, comorbid disease,
and frequency of pain crises. Cardiovascular parameters evaluated will include blood pressure,
echocardiography and 6 minute walk distance. Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity will be assessed
utilizing heart rate variability analysis. Biomarkers of inflammation and endothelial injury will be obtained.
Finally, peripheral and central pain sensitivity responses will be evaluated in a subgroup of subjects
representing a spectrum of sleep apnea severity using quantitative sensory testing. This detailed
characterization of disease burden and functional impairment will be correlated with careful analysis of both
subjective and objective measures of sleep duration and sleep disturbance. This will include self-reports of
sleep quality and daytime sleepiness, actigraphy determined sleep duration and efficiency, and overnight sleep
laboratory polysomnography. The first aim is to assess the prevalence and severity of sleep impairment,
namely reduced habitual sleep duration, arousal frequency, sleep apnea, and nocturnal hypoxemia, in a clinic
population of patients with SCD recruited without selection for sleep complaints. The second aim is to correlate
sleep disorders with indicators of cardiovascular dysfunction and pain. The third aim is to define the response
of cardiovascular and pain indicators to the treatment of any identified sleep disorders. Sickle Cell Disease
(SCD) affects 1 in 500 African Americans and is associated with cardiovascular complications that degrade
quality of life and increase mortality. Sleep apnea, nocturnal hypoxemia, and insufficient sleep promote
cardiovascular disease, and preliminary information suggests they are common in SCD. This study assesses
the frequency of sleep disorders and the cardiovascular and pain related consequences of these disorders for
SCD patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9939717
- **Project number:** 5U54MD007597-32
- **Recipient organization:** HOWARD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Peter Lefort Whitesell
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $194,337
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9939717

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9939717, Sleep Disorders in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease: Frequency, Associations with Cardiovascular and Pain Indicators, and Responses to Treatment (5U54MD007597-32). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9939717. Licensed CC0.

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