Maternal Sleep and Child Neurodevelopment

TOPLINE:

Maternal short sleep duration during pregnancy is linked to an increased risk for neurodevelopmental delays in offspring, particularly in boys. The study suggests that higher levels of cord blood C-peptide may partly mediate this association.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers followed 7059 mother-child pairs from the Maternal & Infants Health in Hefei cohort study. The study excluded those with prior cardiovascular disease, serious pregnancy complications, or incomplete follow-up data.
• Sleep data during pregnancy were collected using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index at 24-28 and 32-36 gestational weeks.
• Neurodevelopmental outcomes in the offspring were assessed using the Denver Developmental Screening Test-II and the Gesell Developmental Diagnosis Scale at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months postpartum.
• Cord blood serum C-peptide levels were measured to evaluate their role in the association between maternal short sleep duration and neurodevelopmental delays.

TAKEAWAY:

• In boys, maternal short sleep duration in midpregnancy and persistent short sleep duration were associated with an increased risk for neurodevelopmental delays (hazard ratio [HR], 2.05 and 2.16, respectively; 95% CI, 1.29-3.25 and 1.27-3.68, respectively).
• Cord blood serum C-peptide levels were higher in participants with short sleep duration in midpregnancy, and this marker was associated with neurodevelopmental delays in boys.
• The mediation analysis suggested that cord blood C-peptide may partially mediate the association between maternal short sleep duration in midpregnancy and neurodevelopmental delays in boys, accounting for 11.05% of the total effect.

IN PRACTICE:

“We propose that maternal glucose metabolism dysfunction during pregnancy could potentially be associated with SSD [short sleep duration] and contribute to neurodevelopmental delays in offspring. Our results may indicate mechanisms by which the association is partly mediated by greater levels of cord C-peptide,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Lei Zhang, Hai-xia Wang, and Dao-min Zhu, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China. It was published online in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

LIMITATIONS:

First, as this was an observational study, there may have been unmeasured confounding factors, and the negative effects of short sleep duration on fetal development may have been underestimated. Second, the use of self-report questionnaires to gather data on maternal sleep patterns and newborn outcomes may have introduced bias, including recollection bias. Third, the low predictive usefulness of neurodevelopmental testing between the ages of 6 and 36 months, especially for mild impairments, is noteworthy.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Key R&D Program of China, the Research Funds of Center for Big Data and Population Health of IHM, and the Foundation for Scientific Research Improvement of Anhui Medical University. Lei Zhang disclosed receiving grants from these organizations. Additional disclosures are noted in the original article.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.