Abstract
BackgroundSleep problems in preschool children can stunt their health and growth. However, the factors that cause sleep problems in children are not well understood. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between parents’ health literacy (HL) and children’s sleep problems. The study was conducted at two kindergartens, two nursery schools, and a center for early childhood education in Chitose-city, Hokkaido, Japan.MethodThis study used a multicenter cross-sectional design. The sample comprised 354 preschoolers (aged 3–6 years) and their parents. In families with two or more children attending the same facility, only the oldest child was asked to participate in the study. Exclusion criteria included participants whose completed questionnaires had missing values. Children’s sleep problems were assessed using the Japanese version of the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ-J). Parents’ HL was assessed using the 14-item Health Literacy Scale (HLS-14). The parents were classified into two groups (high HL group and low HL group). Multiple regression modelling was used to determine the association between HLS-14 and CSHQ-J scores.ResultsOf the 354 parents, 255 (72%) were in the high HL group and 99 (28%) in the low HL group. The mean CSHQ-J score was significantly lower in the high HL group than in the low HL group (45.3 ± 6.0 points vs. 46.8 ± 5.9 points, p = 0.043). In multiple regression analyses, parents’ HL was independently associated with their CSHQ-J score after adjusting for all confounding factors (adjusted R2 = 0.22, β = − 0.11; p = 0.043).ConclusionsParents’ HL appears to affect their children’s sleep problems. This finding suggests that parents’ HL may be a target for intervention to improve children’s sleep problems.
Highlights
Given that the preschool age is a period of rapid functional and cognitive development, sleep in preschoolers is of critical importance [1, 2]
The mean CSHQ-J score was significantly lower in the high health literacy (HL) group than in the low HL group (45.3 ± 6.0 points vs. 46.8 ± 5.9 points, p = 0.043)
Low HL among parents has been reported to be associated with poor health outcomes for their children, such as poor body mass index (BMI), [14] low sleep duration, [15] and oral health deterioration [16]
Summary
Given that the preschool age is a period of rapid functional and cognitive development, sleep in preschoolers is of critical importance [1, 2]. Sleep problems among children aged 4–5 years predict poor health-related quality of life, behavior, language, and learning scores at age 6–7 years [7]. Sleep problems in preschoolers cause poor health outcomes in both the short-term and the long-term. Low HL among parents has been reported to be associated with poor health outcomes for their children, such as poor body mass index (BMI), [14] low sleep duration, [15] and oral health deterioration [16]. The relationship between parents’ HL and sleep problems among children is not clear. Sleep problems in preschool children can stunt their health and growth. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between parents’ health literacy (HL) and children’s sleep problems. The study was conducted at two kindergartens, two nursery schools, and a center for early childhood education in Chitose-city, Hokkaido, Japan
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