Association between maternal fermented food consumption and child sleep duration at the age of 3 years: the Japan Environment and Children's Study

Dietary intake of yogurt and cheese in children at age 1 year and sleep duration at age 1 and 3 years: the Japan Environment and Children's Study

Background

We previously reported that 1-year-old infants born to mothers who regularly consumed fermented food during pregnancy had a lower risk of sleep deprivation. However, it is not known if these positive effects are enhanced when infants themselves eat fermented foods or the long-term effects of such consumption. In this study, we examined the association between the frequency of fermented food intake during the child’s weaning period and sleep deprivation at age 1 and 3 years.

Methods

This birth cohort study used data from a nationwide, government-funded study called the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS), covering 65,210 mother-child pairs. We examined the association between infants’ consumption of fermented foods at 1 year of age and sleep deprivation at 1 and 3 years of age.

Results

There was no association between yogurt or cheese intake and sleep duration at age 1; at age 3, there was no group difference, although a trend test showed that yogurt intake at age 1 was significantly associated with sleep duration at age 3. There was also no association between the frequency of cheese intake and inadequate sleep duration at age 3.

Conclusion

Frequency of children’s yogurt and cheese intake at age 1 was not associated with sleep duration at age 1 or 3. However, a trend test showed a significant association between the frequency of yogurt intake at age 1 and sleep duration at age 3.