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Sleep duration of underserved minority children in a cross-sectional study
William W Wong1, Christina L Ortiz, Debra Lathan
1USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. wwong@bcm.edu.
Insights
Underserved minority children in urban US settings sleep less than recommended, with obese children sleeping even less. Objective accelerometry measured sleep duration and physical activity in these children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Sleep Science
- Obesity Research
Background:
- Short sleep duration is linked to increased obesity risk, particularly in minority children.
- Childhood obesity disproportionately affects underserved minority populations in urban environments.
- This study investigates sleep duration in underserved minority children using objective measures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To objectively measure sleep duration in underserved minority children.
- To examine the relationship between sleep duration and Body Mass Index (BMI).
- To explore associations with socioeconomic status (SES), gender, ethnicity, and physical activity.
Main Methods:
- Objective sleep and physical activity data collected via accelerometry over 5-7 days.
- 333 Hispanic and 150 Black children (aged 9-12) recruited from urban community centers.
- Body weight and height measured to determine BMI status.
Main Results:
- Children slept an average of 8.8 hours/day, below recommended levels.
- Obese children slept 0.2 hours/day less than normal-weight children.
- Sleep duration varied by ethnicity, age, gender, and day of the week, but not SES or physical activity.
Conclusions:
- Minority children in large US metropolitan areas do not meet recommended sleep durations.
- Objective measures highlight insufficient sleep in this vulnerable population.
- Further longitudinal research is needed to confirm causality between sleep and obesity risk.
Background:
Short sleep duration has been shown to associate with increased risk of obesity. Childhood obesity is more prevalent among underserved minority children. The study measured the sleep duration of underserved minority children living in a large US urban environment using accelerometry and its relationship with BMI, socioeconomic status (SES), gender, ethnicity and physical activity.
Methods:
Time spent on sleep and physical activity among 333 Hispanic and 150 black children (9-12 y) was measured objectively by accelerometry over 5-7 consecutive days. The children were recruited at 14 underserved community centers in Houston, Texas, between January 2009 and February 2011. Body weight and height were measured in duplicate.
Results:
The majority of children (88.8%) wore the monitor for 6 consecutive days. The children slept 8.8 ± 0.6 (mean ± SD) h/d and spent 45 ± 24 min/d on moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Hispanic children slept 0.2 h/d longer (P<0.001) than black children. Obese children slept 0.2 h/d less (P<0.02) than normal-weight children. SES had no effect on sleep duration. There was a significant interaction between gender and age (P<0.03); girls aged 11-12 y slept 0.3 h/d less than boys and the younger girls. Children slept 0.6 h/d longer (P<0.001) during the weekend than weekdays. No relation was detected between sleep duration and MVPA time.
Conclusions:
Minority children living in a large metropolitan area in the US are not meeting the National Sleep Foundation recommendation for sleep duration of 10-11 h/d. Longitudinal studies based on objective measures are needed to establish causality between sleep duration and obesity risk among minority children.
