Investigation of the association between sleep problems and food allergies in preschool children with/ without siblings: a cross-sectional study in Chongqing, China / 한국영양학회지

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#This study investigated the association between sleep problems and food allergies (FAs) in Chinese preschoolers and assessed whether there is a difference in this association among children with/without siblings. @*Methods@#A cluster-stratified sampling approach was employed to select four districts in Chongqing based on demographic considerations. A total of 16 kindergartens (n = 966 parents) participated in this study. Parents completed the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) and a standard FAs questionnaire. Analysis of covariance and multiple logistic regression were used to assess the associations between sleep problems and FAs after adjusting for relevant confounders. @*Results@#The study found that 16.3% of children had FAs, with eggs, shellfish, and fruit being the most common allergenic foods. The prevalence of FAs was significantly higher in single children (20.63%) than in children with siblings (13.36%). A total of 70.39% of children had CSHQ scores above the clinical cut-off for sleep disorder. Factor analysis revealed five underlying dimensions from the CSHQ. Factor scores, except for the ‘difficulty morning waking’ factor, were not significantly different between the two groups. Remarkably, the factor scores of ‘parasomnias’ and ‘sleep anxiety’ were significantly higher when children had both siblings and FAs. For all subjects, the odds ratios (ORs) of FAs significantly increased with the presence of sleep disorder (OR, 2.35; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.50–3.68) and ‘difficulty falling asleep’ (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.22–1.48). The subgroup analysis showed that the probability of FAs significantly increased with the ‘difficulty falling asleep’ (OR, 1.32 vs. 1.38) and sleep disorder (OR, 2.48 vs. 2.14) in children with and without siblings, respectively. The ‘parasomnias’ was positively associated only with children with siblings. @*Conclusion@#This study suggests that children with siblings might be more susceptible to FAs when accompanied by certain sleep problems. Further studies are warranted to address the underlying dimensions and possible mediation effects of having siblings with sleep problems.