Dados do Trabalho

Título

SLEEP DURATION IN HOURS OF CHILDREN AND THEIR NUTRITIONAL STATUS AT 4 AND 6 YEARS OF AGE

Introdução

The maintenance of adequate sleep duration in preschool children is essential for childhood growth and development. Biological, cultural, behavioral and socioeconomic factors can alter the sleep pattern of children and consequently influence their nutritional status.

Objetivo

To evaluate if there is an association between children’s sleep duration in hours and their nutritional status at 4 and 6 year of age.

Métodos

This research is a part of a bigger study denominated Predictors of Maternal and Infant Excess Body Weight – PREDI Study, a cohort study started in 2012 in Joinville-SC, Brazil. 221 mother-child pairs participated in this study when the children were four (2013-2014) and six (2016-2017) years of age. Data were collected during scheduled appointments at the families’ homes. Sleep habits of the children were obtained from reports filled by mothers in which the “Inventory of Sleep Habits for Preschool Children” was used. Total sleep duration was informed by the mothers and classified according to the recommendations of the National Sleep Foundation. Ethical aspects: The development of this study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Research of the University of Joinville Region – UNIVILLE (number 107/2011).

Resultados

The prevalence of excess body weight (risk of overweight and obesity) was 41.9%, 22.6% and 21.1% for children with sleep deprivation (<9 hours), 9-12 hours and ≥12 hours of daily sleep, respectively. There was no significant difference (p=0.075) between the categories. In addition, time of sleep was associated to nutritional status of children at four years of age.

Conclusões

Sleep duration in hours is not associated to the nutritional status of children at four and six years of age. However, more studies with a greater number of subjects must be conducted to better understand the effects of sleep in childhood nutritional status.

Palavras-chave

Sleep habits; nutritional status; overweight; childhood obesity; preschool age