Association of Allergic Conditions with Adolescent Sleep Duration: A National Survey

Allergic diseases, such as allergic rhinitis, eczema, and asthma, are prevalent among adolescents and are associated with various health concerns, including poor sleep quality and mental health problems. Although previous research has investigated the general association between allergic conditions and sleep disturbances, few studies have examined how allergic diseases relate to sleep duration.

We performed secondary analysis of the data obtained from the 19th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2023), which included 52,880 middle and high school students. Data was analyzed using complex sample design techniques, descriptive statistics, t-tests, and analyses of variance and covariance conducted to explore associations between allergic diseases and sleep duration on weekdays. Covariates included sex, school type, academic performance, socioeconomic status, and residential type.

The average weekday sleep duration among adolescents was 6.2 h, which was significantly shorter than that recommended by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (8-10 h). Among allergic conditions, allergic rhinitis was significantly associated with reduced sleep duration (p = 0.001), unlike asthma (p = 0.119) and eczema (p = 0.586). Additional differences in sleep duration were observed by sex, academic performance, socioeconomic status, and living arrangements.

Managing allergic rhinitis may be crucial to promoting adequate sleep during adolescence. Furthermore, future research should incorporate physiological indicators to assess sleep quality, as self-reported measures may not capture sleep disturbances such as night-time awakenings. These findings can inform the development of integrated health strategies to enhance physical and psychological well-being of adolescents.