Association of accelerometry-derived social jetlag and sleep with temperament in children less than 6 years of age

Maria Giannoumis; Elise Mok; Cornelia M Borkhoff; Catherine S Birken; Jonathon Maguire; Patricia C Parkin; Patricia Li; Evelyn Constantin

doi:10.5664/jcsm.10056

Association of accelerometry-derived social jetlag and sleep with temperament in children less than 6 years of age

J Clin Sleep Med. 2022 Aug 1;18(8):1993-1999. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.10056.

Authors

Maria Giannoumis¹, Elise Mok², Cornelia M Borkhoff^{3

4

5

6}, Catherine S Birken^{3

4

5

7}, Jonathon Maguire^{3

4

5

7

8

9}, Patricia C Parkin^{3

4

5

7}, Patricia Li^{2

10}, Evelyn Constantin^{2

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Canada.
² Research Institute, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada.
³ Division of Pediatric Medicine and the Pediatric Outcomes Research Team (PORT), The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
⁴ Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.
⁵ Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
⁶ Women's College Research Institute, Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
⁷ Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
⁸ Applied Health Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
⁹ Department of Pediatrics, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Pediatrics, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada.
¹¹ Pediatric Sleep Medicine, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada.

Abstract

Study objectives: Social jetlag (SJL) measures the discrepancy between circadian and social clocks. Using accelerometry-derived data, our objective was to assess the prevalence of SJL in young healthy children and determine the association of SJL and sleep with temperament.

Methods: Of 117 children participating in TARGet Kids!, a Canadian cohort of healthy preschool-aged children, 78 children (39 girls; 50%; mean age [SD]: 35.1 [20.5] months) were included. Sleep was measured objectively using accelerometry. Temperament dimensions (surgency, negative affectivity, and effortful control) were assessed with the very short forms of Rothbart's child and infant behavior questionnaires. We examined associations of SJL and sleep with temperament using multivariable linear regression models adjusted for sex, age, ethnicity, and preschool/daycare attendance.

Results: 20 out of 78 (25.6%) experienced SJL of greater than 30 minutes. SJL was greater in children who attended preschool/daycare compared with children who did not (26.3[18.8] minutes vs 17.6 [14.8] minutes; P < .05). There was no evidence of an association between SJL and any temperament dimension. We found evidence of an association between increased sleep duration and increased negative affectivity scores (longer 24-hour sleep; β: 0.347; 95% confidence interval: 0.182, 0.512; P < .0001; and longer nighttime sleep duration: β: 0.413; 95% confidence interval: 0.163, 0.663; P = .002).

Conclusions: In our cohort, 1 in 4 preschool-aged children experienced SJL. Increased sleep duration was associated with increased negative affect, which could have implications for children developing internalizing behavior such as depression or low self-esteem. We found that sleep duration, but not SJL, was associated with temperament and may impact daytime behavior of young children.

Citation: Giannoumis M, Mok E, Borkhoff CM, et al. Association of accelerometry-derived social jetlag and sleep with temperament in children less than 6 years of age. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(8):1993-1999.

Keywords: sleep; social jetlag; temperament.

MeSH terms

Accelerometry
Canada
Child
Child, Preschool
Circadian Rhythm
Female
Humans
Jet Lag Syndrome*
Sleep
Surveys and Questionnaires
Temperament*
Time Factors