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Title: Early Blood Lead Levels and Sleep Disturbance in Preadolescence.

Authors: Liu, Jianghong; Liu, Xianchen; Pak, Victoria; Wang, Yingjie; Yan, Chonghuai; Pinto-Martin, Jennifer; Dinges, David

Published In Sleep, (2015 Dec 01)

Abstract: Little is known about the effect of lead exposure on children's sleep. This study examined the association between blood lead levels (BLL) and sleep problems in a longitudinal study of children.Four community-based elementary schools in Jintan City, China.1,419 Chinese children.BLL were measured when children were aged 3-5 y, and sleep was assessed at ages 9-13 y. Sleep was assessed by both parents' report, using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), and children's report, using an adolescent sleep questionnaire. A total of 665 children with complete data on BLL and sleep at both ages were included in the current study. Mean age of the sample at BLL assessment was 4.74 y (standard deviation [SD] = 0.89) and at sleep assessment was 11.05 y (SD = 0.88). Mean BLL was 6.26 μg/dL (SD = 2.54). There were significant positive correlations between BLL and 3 CSHQ subscales: Sleep onset delay (r = 0.113, P < 0.01), sleep duration (r = 0.139, P < 0.001), and night waking (r = 0.089, P < 0.05). Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) (26.1% versus 9.0%, P < 0.001) and use of sleeping pills (6.5% versus 1.8%, P = 0.03) were more prevalent in children BLL ≥ 10.0 μg/dL than in those children BLL < 10.0 μg/dL. After adjusting for demographics, BLL ≥ 10.0 μg/dL was significantly associated with increased risk for insomnia symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 2.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03-3.95) and EDS (OR = 2.90, 95% CI = 1.27-6.61).The findings indicate that elevated blood lead levels in early childhood are associated with increased risk for sleep problems and excessive daytime sleepiness in later childhood.

PubMed ID: 26194570 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Adolescent; Child; Child, Preschool; China/epidemiology; Female; Humans; Lead/blood*; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Parents; Prevalence; Residence Characteristics; Risk Assessment; Schools; Sleep Stages/physiology; Sleep Wake Disorders/blood*; Sleep Wake Disorders/epidemiology; Sleep Wake Disorders/physiopathology*; Surveys and Questionnaires

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