Association between sleep duration and latency, nocturnal awakenings, and body mass index among infants
Priscilla Márcia Bezerra de Oliveira1, Márcia de Oliveira Lima1, Patrícia de Menezes Marinho1
1Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Maceió, AL, Brazil.
Insights
Longer sleep duration and shorter sleep latency in infants are linked to lower body mass index (BMI). These sleep patterns in the first year of life may help prevent childhood obesity.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutritional Science
- Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Infant body mass index (BMI) is a critical indicator of early-life growth and future health.
- Sleep patterns in infancy are increasingly recognized as potential modulators of metabolic health.
- Understanding early-life factors influencing infant BMI is crucial for developing effective obesity prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between infant sleep characteristics (duration, latency, awakenings) and body mass index (BMI).
- To assess these associations at six and 12 months of age within a birth cohort.
- To identify potential sleep-related targets for early obesity intervention.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 179 infants was studied.
- Mothers reported infant sleep data using the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire.
- Linear regression models analyzed the association between sleep variables and BMI, adjusting for confounders.
Main Results:
- Each additional hour of sleep was associated with a 0.15 kg/m² reduction in BMI (p=0.03).
- Each additional minute of sleep latency was linked to a 0.01 kg/m² increase in BMI (p=0.02).
- Nocturnal awakenings did not show a significant association with BMI.
Conclusions:
- Infant sleep duration and sleep latency are significantly associated with BMI in the first year of life.
- These findings highlight the importance of sleep in early weight development.
- Sleep insights may inform future nutritional guidelines and obesity prevention efforts in infants.
Objective:
To investigate the association between sleep duration, nocturnal awakenings, and sleep latency with body mass index (BMI) at six and 12 months of age.
Methods:
179 children from a birth cohort were enrolled. At six and 12 months of age, anthropometric data were obtained using standardized techniques and infants' mothers answered the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire for sleep data. The association of BMI with the independent variables (sleep duration, latency, and nocturnal awakenings) was assessed by linear regression models. Analyses were adjusted for potential confounders and a p-value<0.05 was adopted to define statistical significance.
Results:
For each additional hour of sleep duration, BMI was reduced by 0.15 kg/m² (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.28; -0.01; p=0.03) and each additional minute of sleep latency increased BMI by 0.01 kg/m² (95%CI -0.00; 0.03; p=0.02). These associations were independent of gestational age, child sex, birth weight, duration of exclusive breastfeeding, smoking during pregnancy, and mother's BMI, education, and marital status. Nocturnal awakenings showed no association with the outcome.
Conclusions:
Our findings suggest that sleep duration and sleep latency time are associated with BMI in the first year of life. Insights into the influence of sleep early in life on weight status may be helpful to complement future nutritional recommendations and prevent and treat obesity.
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