Sleep Duration and Cardiometabolic Risk Among Chinese School-aged Children: Do Adipokines Play a Mediating Role?
To assess the associations between sleep duration and cardiometabolic risk factors in Chinese school-aged children and to explore the possible mediating role of adipokines.



Sleep duration was collected in 3166 children from the Beijing Child and Adolescent Metabolic Syndrome study. Glucose homeostasis and other cardiometabolic risk factors were assessed. Serum adipokines including leptin, total and high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin, resistin, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), and retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) were determined.



Among the 6- to 12-year-old children, after adjusting for covariates including puberty, short sleep duration was associated with increased body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fasting glucose, insulin and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (all p < .0001), higher triglyceride and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p < .05), along with increased leptin (p < .0001), FGF21 (p < .05) and decreased HMW-adiponectin (p ≤ .01); the association with leptin remained significant after further adjustment for BMI. However, these associations, except for glucose (p < .0001), disappeared after further adjusted for leptin. For the 13-18 years old group, short sleep duration was associated with higher BMI, waist circumference, and RBP4 (all p < .05), but the association with RBP4 was attenuated after adjusting for BMI (p = .067).



Short sleep duration is strongly associated with obesity and hyperglycemia (in 6-12 years old), along with adverse adipokine secretion patterns among Chinese children. The associations with cardiometabolic risk factors appear to be more pronounced in younger children, and could be explained, at least partially, by leptin levels.
Department of Endocrinology, Key Laboratory of Endocrinology, National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Lujiao
L
Li
Department of Endocrinology, Key Laboratory of Endocrinology, National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Junling
J
Fu
Department of Endocrinology, Key Laboratory of Endocrinology, National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Xin Ting
XT
Yu
Department of Endocrinology, Key Laboratory of Endocrinology, National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Ge
G
Li
Department of Endocrinology, Key Laboratory of Endocrinology, National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Lu
L
Xu
Department of Endocrinology, Key Laboratory of Endocrinology, National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Jinghua
J
Yin
Department of Epidemiology, Capital Institute of Paediatrics, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Hong
H
Cheng
Department of Epidemiology, Capital Institute of Paediatrics, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Dongqing
D
Hou
Department of Epidemiology, Capital Institute of Paediatrics, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Xiaoyuan
X
Zhao
Department of Endocrinology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Shan
S
Gao
Department of Endocrinology, Key Laboratory of Endocrinology, National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Wenhui
W
Li
Division of Endocrinology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Changhong
C
Li
Division of Endocrinology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.|Division of Human Genetics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA.|Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, PA.
Struan F A
SFA
Grant
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Mingyao
M
Li
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Yi
Y
Xiao
Department of Epidemiology, Capital Institute of Paediatrics, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Jie
J
Mi
Department of Endocrinology, Key Laboratory of Endocrinology, National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.|Division of Endocrinology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Ming
M
Li
D054392:Adipokines / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism*; D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood; D000293:Adolescent; D044466:Asian People; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D052243:Resistin / Q000097:blood; D054839:Retinol-Binding Proteins, Plasma / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D012307:Risk Factors; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D055105:Waist Circumference
D054392:Adipokines; D052242:Adiponectin; D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D007328:Insulin; D020738:Leptin; C101326:RBP4 protein, human; C499624:RETN protein, human; D052243:Resistin; D054839:Retinol-Binding Proteins, Plasma; D014280:Triglycerides; C414620:fibroblast growth factor 21; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors
Sleep duration; adipokines; cardiometabolic risk factors; children.