Abstract
Background
Inadequate sleep duration has been suggested as a chronic stressor associated with changes in telomere length (TL). This study aimed to explore the association between sleep duration and TL using the INMA birth cohort study data.
Methods
A total of 1014 children were included in this study (cross-sectional: 686; longitudinal: 872). Sleep duration (h/day) was reported by caregivers at 4 years and classified into tertiles (7–10 h/day; >10–11 h/day; >11–14 h/day). Leucocyte TL at 4 and 7–9 years were measured using quantitative PCR methods. Multiple robust linear regression models, through log-level regression models, were used to report the % of difference among tertiles of sleep duration.
Results
In comparison to children who slept between >10 and 11 h/day, those in the highest category (more than 11 h/day) had 8.5% (95% CI: 3.56–13.6) longer telomeres at 4 years. Longitudinal analysis showed no significant association between sleep duration at 4 years and TL at 7–9 years.
Conclusion
Children who slept more hours per day had longer TL at 4 years independently of a wide range of confounder factors. Environmental conditions, such as sleep duration, might have a major impact on TL during the first years of life.
Impact
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Telomere length was longer in children with longer sleep duration (>11 h/day) independently of a wide range of confounder factors at age 4 and remained consistent by sex.
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Sleep routines are encouraged to promote positive child development, like the number of hours of sleep duration.
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Considering the complex biology of telomere length, future studies still need to elucidate which biological pathways might explain the association between sleep duration and telomere length.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are not available for sharing due to ethical and legal restrictions implemented by the regional Ethical Committees and the Ethical Committee of the General Hospital of Alicante. As stated in the informed consent form from participants, we guaranteed the confidentiality of collected personal information from questionnaires and related data. Requests to access the data should be submitted to the corresponding author. Requests will be reviewed by the research team and will require a data transfer agreement.
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Funding
This study was funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III/Agencia Estatal de Investigación, grant number PI18/00825 Project: ‘Dieta y actividad física en embarazo y tras el nacimiento y longitud del telómero en niños y adolescentes: Proyecto TeloDiPA’ and Unión Europea (FEDER) ‘Una manera de hacer Europa’; Generalitat Valenciana (GVA/2021/191); D.S.M. holds a postdoctoral grant by the Flemish Scientific Fund (FWO grant 12X9620N). In Sabadell, this study was funded by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176; CB06/02/0041; PI041436; PI081151 incl. FEDER funds; PI12/01890 incl. FEDER funds; CP13/00054 incl. FEDER funds, PI15/00118 incl. FEDER funds, CPII18/00018), CIBERESP, Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT 1999SGR 00241, Generalitat de Catalunya-AGAUR (2009 SGR 501, 2014 SGR 822), Fundació La marató de TV3 (090430), Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2012-32991 incl. FEDER funds), Agence Nationale de Securite Sanitaire de l’Alimentation de l’Environnement et du Travail (1262C0010), EU Commission (261357, 308333, 603794 and 634453). We acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the State Research Agency through the ‘Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019–2023’ Program (CEX2018-000806-S) and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program. In Asturias, this study was funded by ISCIII: PI04/2018, PI09/02311, PI13/02429, PI18/00909 co-funded by FEDER, ‘A way to make Europe’/‘Investing in your future’, Obra Social Cajastur/Fundación Liberbank and Universidad de Oviedo. In Valencia, this study was supported by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III [FIS-FEDER: 13/1944, 16/1288, 19/1338; Miguel Servet-FSE: MS15/0025, MSII20/0006 incl. FEDER funds], Generalitat Valenciana [AICO/2020/285] and Gobierno de España through Ministerio de Universidades under the grant CAS21/00008. The funders had no role in the design of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review or approval and submission of the manuscript.
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F.P.-R., D.V.-G. and E.-M.N.-M. contributed to the conception and design of the study, advised on all statistical aspects and interpreted the data. F.P.-R. performed the literature search and the analyses. All authors critically reviewed this and previous drafts. All authors approved the final draft for submission, with final responsibility for publication. E.-M.N.-M. is the guarantor.
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The regional Ethical Committees approved the INMA birth cohort study. This study complies with the Helsinki Declaration for human studies. All parents/legal tutors provided their written consent at each phase of the study.
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Petermann-Rocha, F., Valera-Gran, D., Fernández-Pires, P. et al. Children who sleep more may have longer telomeres: evidence from a longitudinal population study in Spain. Pediatr Res 93, 1419–1424 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02255-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02255-w
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