Association of Short and Long Sleep Durations with Insulin Sensitivity in Adolescents

Objective To characterize the relationship between insulin sensitivity, assessed with the homeostasis model of insulin (HOMA), and objective measurements of sleep duration in adolescents. Study design We conducted a cross-sectional analysis from two examinations conducted in the Cleveland Children's Sleep and Health Cohort (n = 387; 43% minorities). Biochemical and anthropometry measurements were made in a clinical research unit. Sleep duration was measured with actigraphy. Results Decreased sleep duration was associated with increased adiposity and minority race. Sleep duration had a quadratic u-shape'' association with HOMA. When adjusted for age, sex, race, preterm status, and activity, adolescents who slept 7.75 hours had the lowest predicted HOMA (1.96, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.82-2.10), and adolescents who slept 5.0 hours or 10.5 hours had HOMA indices that were approximately 20% higher (2.36; 95% CI, 1.94-2.86; and 2.41; 95% CI, 1.93-3.01, respectively). After adjusting for adiposity, the association between shorter sleep and HOMA was appreciably attenuated, but the association with longer sleep persisted. Conclusions Shorter and longer sleep durations are associated with decreased insulin sensitivity in adolescents. Although the association between shorter sleep duration with insulin sensitivity likely is explained by the association between short sleep duration and obesity, the association between longer sleep and insulin sensitivity is independent of obesity. (J Pediatr 2011; 158:617-23).