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Parent-child associations of sleep quality: is physical activity a confounder? The EPI-FAMILY health study

Gustavo S Druzian¹, William R Tebar¹, Vitor S Beretta¹

¹Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Departamento de Educação Física, Presidente Prudente, SP, Brazil.

|March 1, 2024

Insights

Mothers' poor sleep quality is linked to their children's poor sleep, and mothers' physical activity (PA) strengthens this connection. This association was not observed in fathers, highlighting maternal PA's role in child sleep health.

Area of Science:

Pediatric sleep health
Parent-child health correlations
Lifestyle factors in child development

Background:

Increasing rates of sleep deprivation in children necessitate understanding contributing factors.
Parental lifestyle habits, including sleep and physical activity, may influence children's sleep patterns.
The specific link between parental sleep quality, parental physical activity, and child sleep quality requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine the association between parents' and children's sleep quality.
To determine the influence of parental physical activity on the parent-child sleep quality relationship.
To investigate potential differences in these associations between mothers and fathers.

Main Methods:

Cross-sectional study design utilizing the Mini Sleep Questionnaire for sleep quality assessment.
Objective measurement of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) using accelerometers and self-reported PA domains via the Baecke questionnaire.
Hierarchical binary logistic regression models were employed to analyze the relationships, controlling for sociodemographic variables and physical activity levels.

Main Results:

Poor maternal sleep quality was significantly associated with poor sleep quality in their children (OR = 3.95).
Maternal physical activity intensity remained a significant factor, strengthening the association between maternal and child sleep quality (OR = 8.05).
No significant association was found between fathers' sleep quality and their children's sleep quality.

Conclusions:

A significant relationship exists between poor maternal sleep quality and poor sleep quality in their children, independent of confounding variables.
Maternal physical activity plays a crucial role in mediating the association between maternal and child sleep quality.
The findings underscore the importance of maternal sleep health and physical activity for promoting healthy sleep in children.

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Abstract

Introduction:

The incidence of sleep deprivation has increased in pediatric populations, however, the relationship with physical activity (PA) remains uncertain and lacks evidence. Although some studies have shown that parents' lifestyle habits can influence this process, one point that requires further clarification in the literature is whether parents' sleep quality is linked to that of their children and whether parents' physical activity could play an important role in these possible relationships.

Objectives:

To investigate the relationship of sleep quality between parents and children and verify the role of physical activity in this association.

Methods:

This is a cross-sectional study. Sleep quality was assessed using the Mini Sleep Questionnaire. The amount of sleep was estimated by the number of hours slept. PA domains (occupational activities, leisure, and active commuting) were assessed using the Baecke questionnaire, while moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) was assessed with an accelerometer. Socioeconomic status was obtained through a questionnaire. The relationship of sleep quality between parents and children was carried out using hierarchical models with Binary Logistic Regression, where the factors were inserted one by one (1. unadjusted model; 2. sociodemographic variables; 3. children's PA; 4. parents' PA).

Results:

The study sample consisted of 102 children and adolescents (6-17 years), 92 mothers, and 69 fathers. Poor sleep quality of mothers was associated with their children's sleep quality (OR = 3.95; 95%CI = 1.33-11.38; P = 0.013). After inserting mothers' PA intensity into the final model, the associations remained significant (OR = 8.05; 1.33-48.59; P = 0.023). No relationship was observed between poor sleep quality of fathers and their children's sleep quality.

Conclusion:

The relationship between poor sleep quality of mothers and that of their children remained significant, regardless of confounding variables.

Keywords:

Adolescents Exercise Fathers Mothers Sleep deprivation

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