Association of long-term exposure to PM2.5 and its chemical components with the reduced quality of sleep

Poor sleep quality is a widespread concern. While the influence of particle exposure on sleep disturbances has received considerable attention, research exploring other dimensions of sleep quality and the chemical components of the particles remains limited. We employed a marginal structural model to explore the association of long-term exposure to PM_2.5 and its chemical components with poor sleep quality. The odds ratio (95 % CI) for poor sleep quality was 1.335 (1.292–1.378), 1.097 (1.080–1.113), 1.137 (1.100–1.174), 1.197 (1.156–1.240), and 1.124 (1.107–1.140) per IQR increase in the concentration of PM_2.5, SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, NH₄⁺, and BC, respectively. The score (and 95 % CI) of sleep latency, use of sleep medication, habitual sleep efficiency, subjective sleep quality, and daytime dysfunction were affected by PM_2.5, with an increase of 0.059 (0.050–0.069), 0.054 (0.049–0.059), 0.011 (0.008–0.014), 0.011 (0.005–0.018), and 0.026 (0.018–0.034) per IQR increase in PM_2.5 concentrations, respectively. This study supports the association of long-term exposure to PM_2.5 and its chemical components with poor sleep quality.