The sleep and activity database for the early years (SADEY) study: design and methods

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health

Background:

• International 24-hour movement guidelines exist for early years, integrating physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep.
• Evidence synthesis revealed a lack of high-quality, large-scale studies on these integrated behaviors in young children.
• The Sleep and Activity Database for the Early Years (SADEY) project was initiated to address this knowledge gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a comprehensive, pooled database of 24-hour movement behaviors in children aged birth to 5.99 years.
• To facilitate research on the associations between movement behaviors and health indicators in early childhood.
• To inform public health policy and practice for promoting healthy development.

Main Methods:

• Inclusion criteria: >100 participants, device-measured physical activity/sedentary behavior, parent-reported or device-measured sleep, and at least one health outcome.
• Health outcomes include physical (BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure), social-emotional, cognitive, and motor development.
• Data collation is led by the University of Wollongong coordinating center to create a pooled database.

Main Results:

• Currently, 13 studies from 7 countries are included in the SADEY database.
• Ethics approvals and data sharing agreements are finalized for all contributing studies.
• The SADEY 1.0 database is under assembly, comprising approximately 8,000 participants.

Conclusions:

• SADEY will enable research on the relationship between 24-hour movement behavior composition and healthy child development.
• The database will help determine optimal movement behavior mixes and identify targets for intervention.
• The project aims to develop measurement protocols, build capacity in device-based assessment, and foster knowledge translation partnerships.