Sleep duration is associated with appetitive traits in school-age years - results from the Generation XXI birth cohort

Rita Pereira; Alexandra Costa; Sarah Warkentin; Sofia Vilela; Andreia Oliveira

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2024.107384

Sleep duration is associated with appetitive traits in school-age years - results from the Generation XXI birth cohort

Appetite. 2024 Apr 28:199:107384. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107384. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Rita Pereira¹, Alexandra Costa¹, Sarah Warkentin¹, Sofia Vilela¹, Andreia Oliveira²

Affiliations

¹ EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade Do Porto [Institute of Public Health, University of Porto], Rua Das Taipas, N° 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal; Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional Em Saúde Populacional (ITR), Universidade Do Porto, [Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), University of Porto], Rua Das Taipas, N° 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal.
² EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade Do Porto [Institute of Public Health, University of Porto], Rua Das Taipas, N° 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal; Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional Em Saúde Populacional (ITR), Universidade Do Porto, [Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), University of Porto], Rua Das Taipas, N° 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal; Departamento de Saúde Pública e Ciências Forenses e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Do Porto, [Public Health and Forensic Sciences, and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto], Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: acmatos@ispup.up.pt.

PMID: 38688409
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107384

Abstract

Sleep may influence appetite regulation through physiological and neurocognitive pathways. However, the association between sleep and appetite in childhood has been scarcely reported, particularly using a prospective design. We aimed to test associations between sleep duration at 7 years of age (y) and appetitive traits at both 7 and 10 y. Participants are from the population-based birth cohort Generation XXI (Porto, Portugal), at 7 (n = 2437) and 10 y (n = 1938) follow-ups. Data on sleep was gathered at 7 y and, considering bedtime and get-up time, total mean sleep duration was calculated and further categorized according to the 10th and 90th percentiles. Appetitive traits were assessed at 7 and 10 y using the parent-reported Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. Associations were tested through Generalized Linear Models (co-variates: child's sex; maternal age, education and pre-pregnancy body mass index at 7 y). At 10 y, associations were further adjusted for the respective appetitive trait at 7 y. Children slept a mean of 10.2 h/night, and 13% and 9% slept ≤9.5 and ≥ 11.0 h/night at 7 y, respectively. For each additional hour in sleep duration, children scored 0.078 (99%CI: -0.145; -0.011) lower on Food Responsiveness, 0.065 (99%CI: -0.129; -0.002) lower on Emotional Undereating and 0.096 (99%CI: -0.161; -0.032) lower on Food Fussiness. Lastly, children sleeping ≤9.5 h/night scored higher on Food Responsiveness (β = 0.145 99%CI: 0.020; 0.271); while those sleeping ≥11.0 h/night scored lower on Food Fussiness (β = -0.255 99%CI: -0.370; -0.079). No significant prospective associations were found. In conclusion, in 7 y children, sleep duration was cross-sectionally associated with lower scores on food approach (Food Responsiveness) and avoidant traits (Emotional Undereating and Food Fussiness). However, the magnitude of the associations was small and further studies are warranted.

Keywords: Appetite; Body weight; Cohort studies; Feeding behaviour; Sleep.