The pathway analysis of the effects of living environment on sleep duration of school-aged children in Xi’an / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

【Objective】 To describe the current situation of sleep duration and living environment of school-aged children so as to analyze the effects of the living environment on sleep duration comprehensively and provide advice for improving children’s sleep duration. 【Methods】 By cluster sampling, 82 families were selected from 1 rural and 2 urban areas in Xi’an. Data were collected by questionnaire survey and environmental sampling. Proportion was used for statistical description, and factor analysis and pathway analysis were used for statistical analysis. 【Results】 50.0% of the school-aged children in Xi’an slept less than 8 hours. Pollution was mainly caused by lower humidity, CO2, temperature, PM10 and aerobic bacterial count, their standard-exceeding rates being 26.8%, 21.3%, 5.5%, 4.3% and 1.8%, respectively. The results of path analysis showed that the influencing factors were as follows in a descending order strong night light (1.031), presence of the computer (0.549), pressure (0.444), pets (0.408), distance from the driveway (-0.390), humidifier (-0.219), potted plants (0.138), indoor environment factors (0.098), and the floor level (0.039). 【Conclusion】 The sleep duration of school-aged children in Xi’an is relatively inadequate. More attention should be paid to indoor humidity, CO2, temperature, PM10 and aerobic bacterial count. The children’s sleep duration is positively correlated with a good indoor environment, humidifier, being away from the driveway, and low floor level, but is negatively correlated with pressure, strong night light, keeping pets, using computer and potted plants. We need to pay more attention to these factors to improve the sleep quality of school-aged children.