Poor Sleep Quality is Associated with Preterm Birth
Open accessAbstract
STUDY OBJECTIVES: Preterm birth (PTB) is a major public health priority and the most common adverse pregnancy outcome. Several risk factors have been identified, but a gap in the understanding of the underlying etiology of PTB persists. Poor sleep quality is a correlate of adverse health outcomes. Therefore, we evaluated whether sleep quality during pregnancy was a clinically relevant risk factor for PTB. DESIGN: Observational. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Participants included 166 pregnant women (mean age = 28.6 ± 5.5 years). Self-report questionnaires, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), were administered at 14-16, 24-26, and 30-32 weeks gestation. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate whether sleep quality was associated with preterm delivery. Poor sleep quality was a predictor of preterm birth, with the largest effects in early pregnancy (14-16 weeks) (OR: 1.25 95% CI [1.04-1.50], P = 0.02) and more modest effects in later pregnancy (30-32 weeks) (OR: 1.18 95% CI [0.98-1.42], P = 0.07). With every one-point increase on the PSQI, the odds of preterm birth increase 25% in early pregnancy and 18% in later pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Poor sleep quality, in both early and late pregnancy, is associated with an increased risk of delivering preterm. Currently the specific pathway(s) through which disturbed sleep contributes to PTB are unknown. We suggest that poor sleep may contribute to increased risk for PTB both independently, as well as in conjunction with other established risk factors, such as stress.
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Other studies have found that a short duration and poor quality of sleep were both risk factors for preterm birth.
“whereas others have found that a short duration and poor quality of sleep were both risk factors for preterm birth [13, 14].”
From Association between maternal sleep duration and quality, and the risk of preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies (2020) · cites this paper as [14]
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References 68 · Cited by 256
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- [4]National Sleep Foundation. Summary of Findings of the 2007 Sleep in America Poll. 2007 [Google Scholar]
- [21]Hall M, Buysse DJ, Frank E, Sherrill JT, Kupfer DJ. Stressful life events interfere with sleep in healthy men and women. Sleep Res. 1997;26:293. [Google Scholar]
- [30]American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists. ACOG practice bulletin: ultrasonography in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2009;113:451–61. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e31819930b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] · DOI
- Authors
- Okun, M. L., Schetter, C. D., & Glynn, L. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Chapman University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Okun, Michele L.
- Venue
- Sleep
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2011-11
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1493-1498
- ISSN
- 0161-8105 (ISSN-L)
- 1550-9109
- PMC
- PMC3198204
- OpenAlex
- W2094065828
- Cited by
- 256
- References
- 68
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 7.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- SLEEP (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Chapman University Digital Commons (Chapman University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Public Health Service (R00-010813)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD040967, R01 HD-40967)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Preterm Birth and Chorioamnionitis
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Keywords
- preterm birth, sleep quality, pregnancy, sleep disorders, risk factors, early pregnancy, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, maternal stress
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Female, Gestational Age, Humans, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Psychology, Surveys and Questionnaires, Regression Analysis, Risk Factors, Sleep Wake Disorders, Statistics, Nonparametric, Premature Birth, Young Adult
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