Sleep and school attendance in adolescence: results from a large population-based study.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to examine the link between adolescent sleep and non-attendance in school.


METHODS
A large population-based study from Norway conducted in 2012, the youth@hordaland study, surveyed 8,347 adolescents aged 16-19 years (54% girls). Self-reported sleep measures included bedtime, rise time, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency (SOL), wake after sleep onset (WASO), insomnia symptoms, tiredness, and sleepiness. School attendance was obtained from national administrative registries.


RESULTS
Most sleep parameters were associated with increased risk of school non-attendance. After adjusting for gender and socioeconomic status, short sleep duration and sleep deficiency were the sleep measures with the highest odds of non-attendance (OR=4.61, CI 95% 3.29-6.46) and (OR=3.26, CI 95% 2.67-3.99), respectively). Also, large bedtime discrepancies in weekend versus weekdays were associated with non-attendance (OR=2.43, CI 95% 1.93-2.02), as well as insomnia (OR=2.25, CI % 1.89-2.67) and daytime tiredness (OR=2.09, CI 95% 1.70-2.57). The associations were somewhat reduced after additional adjustment for depression, but remained significant in the fully adjusted model.


CONCLUSIONS
The demonstrated relationship between sleep problems and school absence suggests that careful assessment of sleep is warranted when adolescents present with extensive school absence future studies on how the sleep-school absence relationship in adolescence may impact later work affiliation in adulthood are needed.
The Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway mari.hysing@uni.no.
Mari
M
Hysing
The Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway.
Siren
S
Haugland
The Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Kjell Morten
KM
Stormark
The Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway.
Tormod
T
Bøe
Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Bergen, Norway Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway Department of Psychiatry, Helse Fonna HF, Haugesund, Norway.
Børge
B
Sivertsen
D000041:Absenteeism; D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools; D012890:Sleep; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders; D055815:Young Adult
adolescence; epidemiology; non-attendance; school; sleep