Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29219078›Full record

SynthesisBMC public health2017

Systematic review of the relationships between sleep duration and health indicators in the early years (0-4 years).

Jean-Philippe Chaput, Casey E Gray, Veronica J Poitras, Valerie Carson, Reut Gruber, Catherine S Birken, Joanna E MacLean, Salomé Aubert, Margaret Sampson, Mark S Tremblay

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC public health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 191 papers, 18 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
191citing papers in PubMed, 18 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

191 citing papers in PubMed, 18 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  4. Effects of movement behaviors on preschoolers' cognition: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025
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  10. Sleep timing and health indicators in children and adolescents: a systematic review.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2022
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  19. Trial
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131 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Jean-Philippe ChaputHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L1, Canada. jpchaput@cheo.on.ca.
Casey E GrayHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L1, Canada.
Veronica J PoitrasHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L1, Canada.
Valerie CarsonFaculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2H9, Canada.
Reut GruberDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1A1, Canada.
Catherine S BirkenDivision of Paediatric Medicine, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada.
Joanna E MacLeanDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1C9, Canada.
Salomé AubertHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L1, Canada.
Margaret SampsonHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L1, Canada.
Mark S TremblayHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L1, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe objective of this systematic review was to examine for the first time the associations between sleep duration and a broad range of health indicators in children aged 0 to 4 years.

methodsElectronic databases were searched with no limits on date or study design. Included studies (published in English or French) were peer-reviewed and met the a priori determined population (apparently healthy children aged 1 month to 4.99 years), intervention/exposure/comparator (various sleep durations), and outcome criteria (adiposity, emotional regulation, cognitive development, motor development, growth, cardiometabolic health, sedentary behaviour, physical activity, quality of life/well-being, and risks/injuries). The quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. Due to high levels of heterogeneity across studies, narrative syntheses were employed.

resultsA total of 69 articles/studies (62 unique samples) met inclusion criteria. Data across studies included 148,524 unique participants from 23 countries. The study designs were randomized trials (n = 3), non-randomized interventions (n = 1), longitudinal studies (n = 16), cross-sectional studies (n = 42), or longitudinal studies that also reported cross-sectional analyses (n = 7). Sleep duration was assessed by parental report in 70% of studies (n = 48) and was measured objectively (or both objectively and subjectively) in 30% of studies (n = 21). Overall, shorter sleep duration was associated with higher adiposity (20/31 studies), poorer emotional regulation (13/25 studies), impaired growth (2/2 studies), more screen time (5/5 studies), and higher risk of injuries (2/3 studies). The evidence related to cognitive development, motor development, physical activity, and quality of life/well-being was less clear, with no indicator showing consistent associations. No studies examined the association between sleep duration and cardiometabolic biomarkers in children aged 0 to 4 years. The quality of evidence ranged from "very low" to "high" across study designs and health indicators.

conclusionsDespite important limitations in the available evidence, longer sleep duration was generally associated with better body composition, emotional regulation, and growth in children aged 0 to 4 years. Shorter sleep duration was also associated with longer screen time use and more injuries. Better-quality studies with stronger research designs that can provide information on dose-response relationships are needed to inform contemporary sleep duration recommendations.

Indexed as

Health Status IndicatorsSleepChild, PreschoolHumansInfantInfant, NewbornRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTime FactorsAdiposityCardiometabolic healthCognitive developmentEmotional regulationGrowthInfantsInjuriesMotor developmentNewbornsPhysical activityPreschoolersQuality of lifeSedentary behaviourToddlersWell-being

Identifiers

PMID29219078
PMCPMC5773910

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.