Exposure to bedroom light pollution and cardiometabolic risk: A cohort study from Chinese young adults

Indoor light environment has altered dramatically and exposure to light at night (LAN) potential leads to the progression of cardiometabolic conditions. However, few studies have investigated the effect of bedroom LAN exposure on cardiometabolic risk. To estimate the associations between multi-period bedroom LAN exposure with cardiometabolic risk among Chinese young adults. We objectively measured multi-period bedroom LAN intensity using portable illuminance meter in an ongoing prospective cohort (n = 484). At one-year follow-up, 230 young adults provided fasting blood samples for quantification of cardiometabolic parameters. Cardiometabolic (CM)-risk score was derived as the sum of standardized sex-specific z-scores for waist circumference (WC), mean arterial pressure (MAP), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride (TG) and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), with HDL-C multiplied by – 1. Multivariate and univariable linear regression models were used to examine associations of multi-period bedroom LAN exposure with cardiometabolic risk. Exposure to higher bedroom LAN intensity is associated with 1.47-unit increase in CM-risk score (95% CI: 0.69–2.25; P < 0.001). Besides, post-bedtime light exposure was associated with elevated fasting insulin (PBL-1h: β = 0.06, 95% CI: 0.01–0.10; PBL-4h: β = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.19–0.47) and HOMA-IR (PBL-1h: β = 0.013, 95% CI: 0–0.03; PBL-4h: β = 0.07, 95% CI: 0.04–0.11) while pre-awake light exposure was associated with elevated total cholesterol (PAL-1h: β = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02–0.04; PAL-2h: β = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01–0.03), triglyceride (PAL-1h: β = 0.015, 95% CI: 0.01–0.02; PAL-2h: β = 0.01, 95% CI: 0–0.02) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (PAL-1h: β = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01–0.03; PAL-2h: β = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01–0.03). Among young adults, bedroom LAN exposure was significantly associated with higher cardiometabolic risk. Furthermore, different periods of bedroom light exposure have time-dependent effect on cardiometabolic risk. Further research is needed to confirm our findings and to elucidate potential mechanisms.