Association between infant sleep and neurodevelopment in a prospective birth cohort study

To investigate the association of infant sleep and sleep trajectories through the first year of life with infant neurodevelopment.

This study was conducted with 3251 infants in China. Sleep parameters were evaluated by the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire at 42days, 6months, and 1year of age. Neurodevelopment was evaluated at 1year of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition. The latent variable growth curve model was used to evaluate the developmental trajectories of infant sleep, including total sleep duration trajectories, night awakening trajectories and sleep onset latency trajectories. Poisson regression was applied to assess the association between sleep parameters and sleep trajectories and infant neurodevelopment.

Infants with frequent night awakenings at 6months had a higher risk of nonoptimal gross motor development. Additionally, infants with prolonged sleep onset latency at 1year had an increased risk of nonoptimal fine and gross motor development. A consistent frequent night-awakening trajectory increased the risk of nonoptimal gross motor development (adjusted relative risk, 1.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.09 to 2.10). Furthermore, an increasing trajectory in sleep onset latency was associated with an increased risk of nonoptimal fine (adjusted relative risk, 2.70; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 6.51) and gross motor development (adjusted relative risk, 2.76; 95% confidence interval, 1.70 to 4.48). However, no significant association was observed between total sleep duration, or its trajectory, and infant neurodevelopment.

Sleep problems or specific sleep trajectories during the initial year of life may increase risk of compromised neurodevelopment.