Saturation effects of the relationship between physical exercise and systemic immune inflammation index in the short-sleep population: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background Short sleep can lead to an increase in inflammation and regular exercise has been shown to have a mitigation effect. However, the association between physical exercise (PE) and inflammation in the short sleep population is an unknown and intriguing issue. Methods NHANES dataset spanning the years 2007 to 2018 were analyzed. To investigate the relationship mentioned above, we carried out multivariate linear regression models controlling for sociodemographic and lifestyles factors. The systemic immune inflammation index (SII) served as a reflection of inflammatory potential, calculated as the product of platelet count, neutrophil count, and divided by the lymphocyte count. Self-reported questionnaires were used to collect sleep and exercise information. Results A total of 14,664 participants were included for final analysis. Across the three models, PE showed significant negative associations with SII as a continuous variable [Crude Model, β (95% CI): -1.261(-1.600, -0.922), p < 0.001; Model 1, β (95% CI): -1.005(-1.344, -0.666), p < 0.001; Model 2, β (95% CI): -0.470(-0.827, -0.112), p = 0.011]. The consistent nature of the findings persisted when investigating physical exercise (PE) as a categorized variable. By two-piecewise linear regression model, we calculated a saturation effect of PE with the inflection point as 2400 MET-minutes/week. Conclusion This study suggested that performing no more than 2400 MET-minutes/week of PE was associated with lower SII levels in the short sleep population, while more PE might not bring additional benefits.