Short Sleep Duration Throughout Childhood Tied to Psychosis Risk in Young Adulthood

WEDNESDAY, May 29, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Persistent shorter sleep duration across childhood may be a risk factor for subsequent psychosis in young adulthood, according to a study published online May 8 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Isabel Morales-Muñoz, Ph.D., from University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined the association of persistent shorter sleep duration across childhood (ages 6, 18, and 30 months and at 3.5, 4 to 5, 5 to 6, and 6 to 7 years) with psychosis in young adulthood (age 24 years). Analysis included 12,394 children and 3,962 young adults.

The researchers found that individuals with persistent shorter nighttime sleep duration across childhood were more likely to develop psychotic disorder (PD; odds ratio, 2.50) and psychotic experiences (PEs; odds ratio, 3.64) at age 24 years. Increased levels of interleukin-6 at 9 years of age partially mediated the associations between persistent shorter sleep duration and PD (bias-corrected estimate = 0.003) and PEs (bias-corrected estimate = 0.002) in young adulthood, but no such relationship was seen for C-reactive protein at 9 or 15 years.

"Our results indicate that although significant, the size of the association and the proportion of the association mediated was low, which indicates that other factors are also potentially explaining these associations," the authors write. "Future studies should further explore the specific role of inflammation as a potential mediating factor in the prospective associations between sleep and psychosis, together with other potentially relevant mediating factors."

Abstract/Full Text