A comparison of sleep, insomnia and health‑related quality of life between mothers and fathers of preterm versus full‑born infants: a longitudinal study from Norway

Abstract

Background Poor sleep may negatively affect parents’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This longitudinal study aimed to describe and compare sleep, insomnia and HRQoL in mothers and fathers of preterm and full-born infants, and to assess possible associations between sleep, insomnia, and HRQoL from birth up to 12 months in the total sample. Methods A longitudinal study of parents of preterm (n = 25 couples) and full-born (n = 76 couples) infants was conducted. To assess sleep, parents wore wrist actigraphs and filled out sleep diaries for 2 consecutive weeks before responding to a digital questionnaire regarding insomnia symptoms and HRQoL. Actigraphy and sleep diary data were collected at the infant age of 2 months, while questionnaire data on insomnia and HRQoL were collected at the infant ages of 2, 6, and 12 months. Statistical analyses included linear regression and linear mixed models for repeated measures. Results There were no statistically significant differences in total sleep time (actigraphy and sleep diary) between the parent groups (preterm and full-born) at 2 months postpartum. Sleep efficiency was significantly higher for the full-born group. All mothers reported significantly shorter total sleep time and lower sleep efficiency com- pared to fathers (all p < 0.01). In the whole sample, insomnia incidence at 2 months postpartum was high (> 43.5%), and for mothers, it remained high at 6 and 12 months (> 50%). No significant HRQoL differences were identified between the parent groups over time. Fathers in both groups reported significantly higher physical HRQoL levels compared to mothers (p = 0.04). There were no significant associations between total sleep time or sleep efficiency and HRQoL at 2 months postpartum. Insomnia symptoms were associated with reduced mental and physical HRQoL at all measurement points. Conclusions Sleep efficiency (actigraphy and sleep diary) was significantly higher for the full-born group compared to the preterm group. Mothers (both groups) experienced significantly shorter total sleep time and lower sleep effi- ciency compared to fathers. The incidences of insomnia symptoms were high at 2 months postpartum for the whole sample and remained high at follow-up for mothers. Fathers (both groups) reported higher physical HRQoL compared to mothers. Insomnia symptoms had a significantly negative impact on parents’ long-term HRQoL.