# Automated measurement of pineal gland calcification volumes and sleep quality in adults living in costal Ecuador

## TL;DR

This study examines whether pineal gland calcification is linked to poor sleep quality in adults in coastal Ecuador but finds no significant association after adjusting for age and sex.

## Contribution

The study introduces an automated method to measure pineal gland calcification volumes and evaluates their association with sleep quality in a rural Ecuadorian population.

## Key findings

- No significant association was found between pineal gland calcification volumes and sleep quality after adjusting for age and sex.
- Locally-Weighted Scatterplot Smoothing showed a linear relationship between PGC volumes and PSQI scores.
- The association between PGC and sleep quality was non-significant in both unadjusted and multivariate models.

## Abstract

Studies on the association between pineal gland calcification (PGC) and non-breathing sleep-related symptoms are inconclusive.

The present study aims to evaluate this association in middle-aged and older adults living in rural villages located in coastal Ecuador.

Community-dwellers aged ≥ 40 years enrolled in the Three Villages Study cohort were interviewed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess sleep quality and received head computed tomography for automated measurement of PGC volumes. Generalized linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the association between PGC volumes (exposure) and the PSQI score and sleep quality (as separate dependent variables), after adjusting for age and sex.

The study included 1,009 participants (mean age: 56.5 ± 12.6 years; 57% women). The mean volume of PGC was 51 ± 53.5 µL. The mean score of the PSQI was 5.3 ± 2.8 points, with 399 (40%) participants having poor sleep quality. Locally-Weighted Scatterplot Smoothing showed a linear relationship between continuous PGC volumes and PSQI scores. An unadjusted generalized linear regression model showed a significant association between PGC volumes stratified in tertiles and the continuous PSQI score. However, this association lost statistical significance after adjustment for age and sex. The association between tertiles of PGC and poor sleep quality was non-significant in both unadjusted and multivariate logistic regression models.

Study results did not find an association between increased PGC and sleep quality after adjusting for demographics, suggesting that PGC may not necessarily indicate pineal dysfunction but could reflect adaptive physiological mechanisms.