Maternal sleep duration and neonatal birth weight: The Japan Environment
and Children’s Study
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effect of maternal sleep duration (MSD) on
low birth weight infants (LBW), small for gestational age infants (SGA),
and macrosomia. Design: Prospective cohort study Setting: The Japan
Environment and Children’s Study (JECS) Population: Participants
enrolled in JECS, with singleton pregnancies after 22 weeks, who gave
birth between 2011 and 2014. Methods: Participants were categorized into
five groups according to MSD during pregnancy: G1 (MSD <6.0
h), G2 (6.0–7.9 h), G3 (8.0–8.9 h), G4 (9.0–9.9 h), and G5
(10.0–12.0 h). Main outcome measures: The effect of MSD on the risk of
LBW (<2,500 g and <1,500 g), SGA, and macrosomia
(>4,000 g) with G2 as the reference, while adjusting for
gestational excessive body weight gain (BWG). Analysis was also
performed after stratification by gestational BWG. Results: We analyzed
82,171 participants. The adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of LBW
<2,500 g in G4 and G5 and of SGA in G4 were 0.90 (95%
confidence interval [CI], 0.83-0.99), 0.86 (95% CI, 0.76-0.99), and
0.91 (95% CI, 0.82-0.99), respectively, before adjusting for excessive
gestational BWG. No significant association was observed between MSD and
these outcomes after adjusting for excessive gestational BWG. Among
women with appropriate gestational BWG, the aORs of LBW <2,500
g and SGA in G4 were 0.88 (95% CI, 0.80-0.97) and 0.87 (95% CI,
0.78-0.97), respectively. Conclusion: This study revealed that 9.0–9.9
h of MSD significantly decreased LBW <2,500 g and SGA in
pregnant women with appropriate gestational BWG, relative to 6.0–7.9 h
of MSD.