Correlation between sleep problems and manual dexterity ability in a  national multicenter study of preschool children

ZHOU Ji; CHENG Tong; XU Mengjie; ZHENG Yingnan; XU Mengxue; JIA Ni; GUAN Hongyan

doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-1437

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Chinese Journal of Child Health Care ›› 2026, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (2) : 122-127. DOI: 10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-1437

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Correlation between sleep problems and manual dexterity ability in a national multicenter study of preschool children

ZHOU Ji, CHENG Tong, XU Mengjie, ZHENG Yingnan, XU Mengxue, JIA Ni, GUAN Hongyan

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Abstract

Objective To describe sleep problems and manual dexterity among preschool children, and to examine their correlation, so as to provide reference for improving preschool children's sleep problems and manual dexterity ability in China. Methods From April to July 2023 and in January 2024, a multistage stratified cluster sampling strategy was applied to select cities with medium or above economic level in representative provinces across four major economic regions in China (eastern, central, western and northeastern China).A total of 49 kindergartens were recruited, including 26 urban kindergartens and 23 rural kindergartens.Within each kindergarten, children were enrolled with a 1:1 allocation by sex and by age group (3-year-olds vs. 4-year-olds), with 25–30 children recruited per kindergarten, for a total of 1 316 participants.Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) was used to obtain the detection rate of children's sleep problems, and the 9-hole pegboard test in the National Institutes of Health Neurological and Behavioral Function Assessment Toolbox (NIH Toolbox) was used to measure children's manual dexterity ability.Multiple linear regression models were constructed to analyze the relationship between children's sleep problems and manual dexterity ability. Results A total of 1 255 children were included (50.04% were boys), with a mean age of (4.10±0.45) years.The mean CSHQ total score was 47.05±6.14, and the overall detection rate of sleep problems was 78.6%.The mean 9-hole pegboard completion time was (36.30±8.45) seconds, with a pass rate of 93.8%.After adjustment for confounders, the CSHQ total score was not significantly associated with 9-hole pegboard time (P＞0.05).For each 1-point increase in the sleep onset delay and sleep-disordered breathing domain scores, the 9-hole pegboard completion time increased by 0.808 s (95% CI: 0.203–1.413) and 1.003 s (95% CI: 0.183–1.822), respectively (P<0.05). Conclusions Reduced manual dexterity was associated with prolonged sleep latency and the presence of sleep-disordered breathing in preschool children, suggesting that targeted manual dexterity ability training should be integrated into sleep intervention and prevention to optimize strategy comprehensiveness and efficacy.

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sleep problem / manual dexterity / hand / preschool children

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ZHOU Ji, CHENG Tong, XU Mengjie, ZHENG Yingnan, XU Mengxue, JIA Ni, GUAN Hongyan. Correlation between sleep problems and manual dexterity ability in a national multicenter study of preschool children[J]. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care. 2026, 34(2): 122-127 https://doi.org/10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-1437

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