Combination of sleep duration, TV time and body mass index is associated with cardiometabolic risk moderated by age in youth.

Objectives: The combination of sleep duration, television (TV) time and body mass index (BMI) may be related to the alteration of cardiometabolic risk. However, there are few studies that use these variables grouped, and showing the moderating role of age. This study aimed to verify if the combination of sleep duration, TV time and BMI is associated with cardiometabolic risk and the moderating role of age in this relationship in youth.

Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with 1411 adolescents (611 male), aged 10-17 years. Sleep duration, TV time and BMI were assessed and grouped into eight categories. Cardiometabolic risk was assessed by a continuous metabolic risk score, including the following variables: low HDL-cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, dysglycemia, high systolic blood pressure, high waist circumference and low cardiorespiratory fitness. Generalized linear models were used to test moderation of age in the relationship between the eight categories of sleep duration/television time/BMI with cardiometabolic risk.

Results: Cardiometabolic risk factor showed association with all overweight or obesity independent of sleep time and TV time. Age moderated the relationship between sleep duration/television time/BMI with cardiometabolic risk. This association was stronger in younger adolescents (11 and 13 years), indicating that individuals with inadequate sleep, prolonged TV time and overweight/obesity present higher cardiometabolic risk values when compared to 15-year-old adolescents.

Conclusion: Overweight/obesity, independently of sleep duration and TV time, is the main risk factor for cardiometabolic disorders in adolescence. When moderated by age, younger adolescents that presented the combination of risk factors had higher cardiometabolic risk.