Association between indoor use of consumer chemical products and sleep disturbance among college students: A nationwide cross-sectional study

Exposure to chemicals has been demonstrated to impact human health, contributing to various diseases. However, limited research has explored the impact of indoor use of consumer chemical products on sleep quality. This study aims to investigate the association between the use of consumer chemical products and sleep disturbance among college students. A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted in China from 2023 to 2024. Participants' sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the use of consumer chemical products was investigated by a questionnaire. The logistic regression model was utilized to evaluate the association of consumer chemical products with the odds ratio (OR) of sleep disturbance. Analysis of 13,222 validated questionnaires revealed that 39 % of participants experienced sleep disturbance. The age range of college students was 14 to38 years, with a median age of 21.3 years. The use of five consumer chemical products (mosquito incense, electric mosquito repellents, insecticides, air fresheners, and perfumes), significantly increased the incidence of sleep disturbance, with mean OR ranging from 1.10 to 1.46. Additionally, indoor use of all five products significantly increased the total PSQI scores by 11-21 %, indicating worse sleep quality. Male and overweight college students were found to be more vulnerable to the risk of sleep disturbance from indoor exposure to consumer chemical products. Our study highlights the crucial role of indoor use of consumer chemical products in developing sleep-related diseases among college students, necessitating the mitigation of such chemical exposure.