637 Cumulative risk associated with poor sleep health in children and adolescents

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Social risk factors are associated with poor sleep outcomes across the life course. It is unclear if this association varies based on biological factors, such as age and gender. Therefore, the purpose of this analysis was to identify if age or gender moderated the association between cumulative risk and sleep duration/regularity in a national sample of children and adolescents. Methods We completed a secondary data analysis using the National Survey of Children’s Health 2017–2018 publicly available dataset. In a sample of 36,997 children age 6–17 years, we explored the association between a social cumulative risk index score (CRI) and child sleep duration and regularity. We included eight dichotomous social risk variables in the CRI: parental education Results Age was a significant moderator of the association between CRI and short sleep duration, such that the magnitude of the CRI-sleep relationship was greater in school-age children (age 6–11; b = -0.13, p<0.001) compared to adolescents (age 12–17 years; b = -0.05, p<0.001). Age was not a significant moderator between CRI and sleep irregularity. However, CRI independently predicted increased odds of sleep irregularity (OR = 1.30, p<.001) and older age moderately increased the odds of sleep irregularity (OR = 1.21, p = 0.06). Sex was not a significant moderator of the association between CRI and sleep duration or sleep regularity. However, female sex was positively associated with sleep duration (b = 0.06, p = 0.11), but was not a significant independent predictor of sleep irregularity. Conclusion Younger children with cumulative risk factors are at risk for short sleep duration. Further research is needed to uncover biological mechanisms underlying multiple sleep parameters across developmental ages. Support (if any):