Peruvians' sleep duration: Analysis of a population-based survey on adolescents and adults

Background: Sleep duration, either short or long, has been associated with diseases such as obesity, type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Characterizing the prevalence and patterns of sleep duration at the population-level, especially in resource-constrained settings, will provide informative evidence on a potentially modifiable risk factor. The aim of this study was to explore the patterns of sleep duration in the Peruvian adult and adolescent population, together with its sociodemographic profile. Material and Methods: A total of 12,424 subjects, mean age 35.8 years (SD ± 17.7), 50.6% males, were included in the analysis. This is a cross-sectional study, secondary analysis of the Use of Time National Survey conducted in 2010.We used weighted means and proportions to describe sleep duration according to socio-demographic variables (area and region; sex; age; education attainment; asset index; martial and job status).We used Poisson regressions, taking into account themultistage sampling design of the survey, to calculate crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Main outcomes were short- (<6 h) and long-sleep duration (≥9 h). Results: On average, Peruvians slept 7.7 h (95% CI [7.4-8.0]) on weekdays and 8.0 h (95% CI [7.8-8.1]) during weekends. The proportions of short- and longsleep, during weekdays, were 4.3% (95% CI [2.9%-6.3%]) and 22.4% (95% CI [14.9%-32.1%]), respectively. Regarding urban and rural areas, a much higher proportion of short-sleep was observed in the former (92.0% vs. 8.0%); both for weekdays and weekends. On themultivariable analysis, compared to regular-sleepers (≥6 to <9 h), short-sleepers were twice more likely to be older and to have higher educational status, and 50% more likely to be currently employed. Similarly, relative to regular-sleep, long-sleepers were more likely to have a lower socioeconomic status as per educational attainment. Conclusions: In this nationally representative sample, the sociodemographic profile of short-sleep contrasts the long-sleep. These scenarios in Peru, as depicted by sleeping duration, differ from patterns reported in other high-income settings and could serve as the basis to informand to improve sleep habits in the population.Moreover, it seems important to address the higher frequency of short-sleep duration found in urban versus rural settings.