0909 Daytime Sleepiness, Gender, and Depressive Symptoms – Data from the National Sleep Foundation Sleep in America® Poll

Abstract Introduction Daytime sleepiness and mental health problems are both very common among US adolescents. But little is known about how they are associated at the population level and how this relationship may differ in boys and girls. Methods Data were obtained from the National Sleep Foundation Sleep in America® Poll. The random, population-based sample (N=1,136) provided data on a range of sleep questions, as well as items from the PHQ8 depression scale. For the present analyses, daytime sleepiness was assessed with the item, “How many days did you fall asleep without intending to, such as dozing off in front of the TV or in any other situation?” Responses ranged from 0-7. PHQ8 items included frequency of depressed mood, anhedonia, sleep disturbance, appetite disruptions, low energy, excessive guilt, difficulty concentrating, and psychomotor disturbances during the past 2 weeks. Responses were categorized as “None,” “Less than half the days,” or “More than half the days.” Population-weighted multinomial logistic regression analyses, with depressive symptoms as outcome and days/week of sleepiness as the exposure were adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, rurality, and weekday sleep duration. Post-hoc analyses examined gender interactions. Results Prevalence of daytime sleepiness was 42.3% (0 days), 15.6% (1 day), 14.9% (2 days), 10.9% (3 days), 6.7% (4 days), 4.7% (5 days), 1.4% (6 days), and 3.5% (7 days). Each additional day/week of sleepiness was associated with an increased likelihood of depressed mood (14.5% some days and 19.7% most days), anhedonia (19.4% some days and 17.4% most days), sleep disturbance (20.4% some days and 31.9% most days), appetite dysregulation (18.3% most days), low energy (13.4% some days and 39.6% most days), difficulty concentrating (19.5% most days), and psychomotor disturbances (14.9% some days). Significant gender interactions existed for all variables, and relationships were significantly stronger for girls compared to boys. Conclusion Daytime sleepiness is common in US teenagers and may represent a risk factor for depressive symptoms. It is unclear why this relationship is stronger in girls versus boys. Future work is needed to better understand these associations and develop better strategies for identifying and reducing sleepiness in adolescent health. Support (if any) R01MD011600, R01MH135978