Sleep patterns are associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in nine-year-old Swedish children

Abstract

Aim: Sleep duration and bedtime may play a role in children's cardiometabolic health, but research is lacking. This study examined associations between sleep patterns and cardiometabolic risk factors in Swedish nine-year-olds.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from three studies, where identical outcome measures were conducted in 411 nine-year-olds, 51% boys, between 2016 and 2020. Sleep was assessed with wrist-worn accelerometers and sleep journals. Children were grouped based on meeting the sleep guidelines of 9-11 h and going to bed early or late based on the median bedtime. Analysis of covariance was used to examine associations between sleep patterns and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Results: Meeting sleep guidelines and going to bed early were associated with lower metabolic syndrome score (-0.15 vs. 0.42, p = 0.029), insulin resistance (0.30 vs. 0.60, p = 0.025) and insulin levels (6.80 vs. 8.87 mIU/L, p = 0.034), compared with their peers who did not meet the guidelines and went to bed later. When adjusting for total sleep time, analyses still showed associations with the metabolic syndrome score (-0.19 vs. 0.50, p = 0.011).

Conclusion: The findings indicate that good sleep patterns could help mediate positive overall cardiometabolic health in children.

Keywords: bedtime; cardiometabolic health; school‐aged children; sleep duration; sleep patterns.