Sleep quality, sleep duration, and adolescent myopia: A NHANES cross-sectional study with implications for ocular...

This study examined the association between sleep duration, sleep quality, and the risk of myopia among adolescents in the United States, utilizing data from the 2005 to 2008 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

A cross-sectional study design was applied to data from 966 adolescents aged 16 to 19 years. Myopia was classified by severity. Sleep duration and sleep quality were categorized and analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess associations between sleep characteristics and myopia.

In unadjusted models, poorer sleep quality (quartiles Q2-Q4) was associated with an increased risk of myopia. This association persisted after adjusting for demographic variables. However, further adjustment for the family poverty income ratio, screen time, and body mass index attenuated the association. Although the overall sleep quality variable remained statistically significant, pairwise comparisons between individual quartiles and the reference group were not. No significant associations were found between sleep duration and myopia.

These findings suggest that the apparent influence of sleep may be confounded by other factors, limiting conclusions about its independent role.Future investigations should further employ optical biometry and OCT/OCTA to quantify sleep-related structural changes in the eye, in order to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the influence of sleep on myopia.