Sleep Characteristics, Body Mass Index, and Risk for Hypertension in Young Adolescents

Inadequate sleep has been identified as a risk factor for a variety of health consequences. For example, short sleep durations and daytime sleepiness, an indicator of insufficient sleep and/or poor sleep quality, have been identified as risk factors for hypertension in the adult population. However, less evidence exists regarding whether these relationships hold within child and early adolescent samples and what factors mediate the relationship between sleep and risk for hypertension. Using data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the present study examined body mass index (BMI) as a possible mediator for the effects of school-night sleep duration, weekend night sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness on risk for hypertension in a sample of sixth graders. The results demonstrated gender-specific patterns. Among boys, all three sleep characteristics predicted BMI and yielded significant indirect effects on risk for hypertension. Oppositely, only daytime sleepiness predicted BMI among girls and yielded a significant indirect effect on risk for hypertension. The findings provide clarification for the influence of sleep on the risk for hypertension during early adolescence and suggest a potential need for gender-specific designs in future research and application endeavors.