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Association Between Exposure to Outdoor Artificial Light at Night and Sleep Disorders Among Children in China

Le-Bing Wang1, Yan-Chen Gong1, Qiu-Ling Fang1

  • 1Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.

JAMA Network Open
|May 20, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Exposure to outdoor artificial light at night (ALAN) is linked to increased sleep disorder symptoms in children. Higher ALAN levels were associated with poorer sleep quality, especially in younger children, suggesting light control may improve sleep.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Healthy sleep is crucial for children's physical and mental well-being.
  • Limited research exists on the impact of outdoor artificial light at night (ALAN) on pediatric sleep disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between outdoor ALAN exposure and sleep disorders in children and adolescents.
  • To identify potential public health strategies for improving children's sleep quality.

Main Methods:

  • Population-based cross-sectional study involving 201,994 children and adolescents aged 2-18 years in China.
  • Outdoor ALAN exposure was assessed using satellite imagery within 500m of residences.
  • Sleep disorders were measured using the Chinese version of the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children; generalized linear mixed models were used for analysis.

Main Results:

  • Higher outdoor ALAN exposure was significantly associated with increased total sleep scores and a higher prevalence of sleep disorder symptoms.
  • Odds ratios for sleep disorders increased with higher quintiles of ALAN exposure, with stronger associations observed in children younger than 12 years.
  • Specific sleep disorder subtypes also showed similar associations with ALAN exposure.

Conclusions:

  • Children living in areas with higher outdoor ALAN levels exhibit a greater prevalence of sleep disorders.
  • Reducing outdoor ALAN may be a key intervention for enhancing sleep quality in pediatric populations.
  • The findings underscore the importance of environmental factors in pediatric sleep health.
Abstract

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