Sleep Med Rev. 2025 Nov 22;85:102206. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2025.102206. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Children and adolescents from racial and ethnic minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds are at greater risk for health disparities. This meta-analysis examined the association between sleep and mental health, with attention to variations by: (a) race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, and (b) individual sleep parameters and mental health domains. The review included 104 studies (66 independent samples, 326,478 participants). Less optimal sleep was associated with worse mental health (r = -.20, 95% CI [-.23, -.16]). Subjective sleep quality was a stronger correlate of mental health relative to all other sleep parameters (bs ranged from .11 to .19, ps < .001). Sleep schedule was a stronger correlate than objective sleep duration and quality (bs = .08 and .07, respectively, ps < .01). Sleep consistency was also a stronger correlate than objective sleep duration (b = .05, p = .03). Socioeconomic status moderated two associations. Objective sleep quality was more strongly linked to mental health among middle- relative to mixed-SES samples (b = .11, p = .01). Sleep consistency was more strongly associated with mental health among low- compared to mixed-SES samples (b = .05, p = .002). Findings are discussed in the context of methodological challenges in studying health disparities.
PMID:41313963 | DOI:10.1016/j.smrv.2025.102206
