Sleep duration, brain structure, and psychiatric and cognitive problems in children

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Low sleep duration in adults is associated with psychiatric and cognitive impairments.
• Previous research has not extensively analyzed sleep duration in children concerning psychiatric issues, cognition, and brain structure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a large-scale analysis of sleep duration in children (9-11 years old).
• To investigate the relationship between sleep duration, psychiatric problems (including depression), cognitive function, and brain structure.
• To explore the longitudinal associations and mediating factors in these relationships.

Main Methods:

• Utilized structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data from 11,067 children in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.
• Employed linear mixed models, mediation analysis, and structural equation modeling for longitudinal analysis.
• Assessed dimensional psychopathology in children and parents, cognitive scores, and sleep duration.

Main Results:

• Children's dimensional psychopathology, including depression and anxiety, negatively correlated with sleep duration.
• Parental psychopathology was also correlated with shorter sleep duration in children.
• Longer sleep duration correlated with larger volumes in the orbitofrontal cortex, prefrontal cortex, temporal cortex, precuneus, and supramarginal gyrus.
• Depressive problems significantly predicted short sleep duration one year later and mediated the effect of brain regions on sleep.
• Higher cognitive scores were associated with larger volumes in the prefrontal cortex, temporal cortex, and medial orbitofrontal cortex.

Conclusions:

• Childhood psychopathology, particularly depression, is significantly associated with short sleep duration and brain structure.
• Parental psychopathology is a relevant factor to consider in relation to children's sleep problems.
• Brain structure is interconnected with sleep duration and psychiatric issues in children, with depressive problems playing a mediating role.