DOI: 10.1177/08901171241312507 ISSN: 0890-1171

Associations Between Sleep Duration and Lifestyle Risk Factors Among Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Yueqi Li, Jen Jen Chang, Thomas E. Burroughs

Purpose

Examining the associations between sleep duration and lifestyle risk factors and assessed whether sex modify such associations among U.S. adolescents.

Design

Cross-sectional study among high school students from the 2015-19 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Setting

US, national.

Subjects

High school students grade 9-12 (n = 31 871).

Measures

Students reported hours of sleep on an average school night categorized into “less than 6 hours”, “6 to 7 hours” and “8 hours and more”. Lifestyle risk factors including physical inactivity, insufficient breakfast consumption, current tobacco use, and current binge drinking were self-reported and dichotomized.

Analysis

Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between sleep duration and lifestyle risk factors, adjusting for confounders.

Results

Compared to students with 8 hours and more of sleep, students with 6 to 7 hours and less than 6 hours of sleep had 79% and 228% ( P < .01) increased odds of insufficient breakfast consumption; and had 22% ( P = 0.0014) and 74% ( P < .01) increased odds of binge drinking, respectively. There is a significant interaction between sleep duration and sex ( P < .05) for physical inactivity and current tobacco use.

Conclusion

Insufficient sleep is common among US adolescents and is associated with increased risks of multiple lifestyle risk factors, which suggests great needs for multilevel interventions to address sleep deprivation and promote good sleep hygiene among adolescents.

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