SLEEP PATTERNS AND CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH IN CHINESE CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

Objective: Despite accumulating evidence showing that sleep patterns are correlated with cardiometabolic risks, their relations to cardiovascular health (CVH) in children and adolescents remains inconclusive. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the associations of sleep duration and bedtime with CVH among Chinese children and adolescents. Design and method: Data were obtained from a population-based cross-sectional study, with 7,220 Chinese children and adolescents aged 6–18 years were included for analysis. The scores and levels of behavioral (smoking, body mass index, physical activity, and diet), biological (total cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose), and global CVH were evaluated according to the American Heart Association's recommendation. Information on sleep duration and timing were collected by questionnaires. Subjects with sufficient sleep duration (> = 9 hours in individuals aged 6–12y or >8 hours in those over 13y) and early bedtime (22:00 before) were defined as having optimal sleep patterns. Generalized additive models and logistic regressions were performed to estimate the relationship between CVH and sleep patterns. Results: For boys, positive dose-response relations were found between sleep duration and all three CVH scores, but negative associations were observed for bedtime. Compared with boys with optimal sleep patterns, those with insufficient sleep duration and late bedtime had lower odds of ideal biological CVH (OR = 0.680, 95% CI: 0.525–0.881, p = 0.004) and ideal global CVH (OR = 0.681, 95% CI: 0.525–0.883, p = 0.004). Though similar results were also showed in girls, no statistically significant association was noted between sleep pattern variables (duration and timing) and any CVH scores or levels. Conclusions: Sufficient sleep duration and early bedtime are associated with desirable cardiovascular health in children and adolescents, especially for boys. However, causal interpretation cannot be made and associations might be bidirectional.