Sleep Difficulties in Infancy Are Associated with Symptoms of Inattention and Hyperactivity at the Age of 5 Years: A Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT: Objective: Sleep difficulties are associated with cognitive and behavioral problems in childhood. However, it is still unclear whether early sleep difficulties are related to later development. We studied whether parent-reported sleep duration, night awakenings, and parent-reported sleep problems in early childhood are associated with symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity at the age of 5 years. Method: Our study is based on the Child-Sleep birth cohort initially comprising 1673 families, of which 713 were retained at the age of 5 years. We used the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire and the Infant Sleep Questionnaire, which were filled out by the parents when their child was 3, 8, and 24 months and 5 years old. Symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity at the age of 5 years were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Five-to-Fifteen questionnaire. Results: Sleep duration at the age of 3, 8, and 24 months was associated with inattentiveness at 5 years of age. Moreover, parent-reported sleep problems at the age of 24 months were related to both inattentive and hyperactive symptoms at the age of 5 years. Finally, at the age of 5 years, parent-reported sleep problems and night awakenings were associated with concurrent symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that certain sleep characteristics related to sleep quality and quantity in early childhood are associated with inattentiveness and hyperactivity at the age of 5 years. Interestingly, sleep duration in early childhood is consistently related to inattention at the age of 5 years.

[1]  G. Fabiano,et al.  Exploring Parent Beliefs and Behavior: The Contribution of ADHD Symptomology Within Mothers and Fathers , 2018, Journal of attention disorders.

[2]  T. Paunio,et al.  The effects of maternal risk factors during pregnancy on the onset of sleep difficulties in infants at 3 months old , 2018, Journal of sleep research.

[3]  B. Heude,et al.  Night-waking and behavior in preschoolers: a developmental trajectory approach. , 2017, Sleep medicine.

[4]  J. Nicholson,et al.  Early childhood profiles of sleep problems and self-regulation predict later school adjustment. , 2016, The British journal of educational psychology.

[5]  E. Sciberras,et al.  Sleep and Self-Regulation from Birth to 7 Years: A Retrospective Study of Children with and Without Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at 8 to 9 Years , 2016, Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP.

[6]  B. Kılıç,et al.  Relationship Between Sleep Problems and Quality of Life in Children With ADHD , 2016, Journal of attention disorders.

[7]  A. Harvey,et al.  Later emotional and behavioral problems associated with sleep problems in toddlers: a longitudinal study. , 2015, JAMA pediatrics.

[8]  Andrea Berger,et al.  Infant Sleep Predicts Attention Regulation and Behavior Problems at 3–4 Years of Age , 2015, Developmental neuropsychology.

[9]  G. Salum,et al.  Annual research review: A meta-analysis of the worldwide prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents. , 2015, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[10]  D. Dinges,et al.  How acute total sleep loss affects the attending brain: a meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies. , 2015, Sleep.

[11]  G. Reid,et al.  What Do Preschool-Aged Children Do When They Wake at Night: Toward an Understanding of Night-Waking Behaviors Among Community Children , 2014, Behavioral sleep medicine.

[12]  J. Morton,et al.  Behavioral Sleep Problems and their Potential Impact on Developing Executive Function in Children. , 2013, Sleep.

[13]  A. Emond,et al.  Sleep patterns in children with ADHD: a population-based cohort study from birth to 11 years , 2012, Journal of sleep research.

[14]  J. Carrier,et al.  Short sleep duration is associated with teacher-reported inattention and cognitive problems in healthy school-aged children , 2012, Nature and science of sleep.

[15]  M. Korkman,et al.  The Attention and Executive Function Rating Inventory (ATTEX): Psychometric properties and clinical utility in diagnosing ADHD subtypes. , 2010, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[16]  J. Montplaisir,et al.  Short Nighttime Sleep-Duration and Hyperactivity Trajectories in Early Childhood , 2009, Pediatrics.

[17]  Stephen V Faraone,et al.  Sleep in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: meta-analysis of subjective and objective studies. , 2009, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[18]  T. Porkka-Heiskanen,et al.  Sleep quality, duration and behavioral symptoms among 5–6-year-old children , 2009, European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[19]  T. Porkka-Heiskanen,et al.  Short Sleep Duration and Behavioral Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Healthy 7- to 8-Year-Old Children , 2009, Pediatrics.

[20]  J. Owens,et al.  Subjective and objective measures of sleep in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. , 2009, Sleep medicine.

[21]  S. Campbell,et al.  Predicting the Early Developmental Course of Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. , 2007, Journal of applied developmental psychology.

[22]  Michel Boivin,et al.  Associations between sleep duration patterns and behavioral/cognitive functioning at school entry. , 2007, Sleep.

[23]  Melissa Wake,et al.  Adverse Associations of Sleep Problems in Australian Preschoolers: National Population Study , 2007, Pediatrics.

[24]  D. Cohen,et al.  Locomotion and nightwaking. , 2005, Child: care, health and development.

[25]  J. Owens.  The ADHD and Sleep Conundrum: A Review , 2005, Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP.

[26]  J. Montplaisir,et al.  Factors associated with fragmented sleep at night across early childhood. , 2005, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine.

[27]  A. Sadeh.  A brief screening questionnaire for infant sleep problems: validation and findings for an Internet sample. , 2004, Pediatrics.

[28]  R. Goodman,et al.  The extended version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as a guide to child psychiatric caseness and consequent burden. , 1999, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[29]  Julian M. B. Morrell,et al.  The Infant Sleep Questionnaire: A New Tool to Assess Infant Sleep Problems for Clinical and Research Purposes , 1999 .

[30]  Anneli Kylliäinen,et al.  Maternal and paternal sleep during pregnancy in the Child-sleep birth cohort. , 2017, Sleep medicine.

[31]  E. Aronen,et al.  Psychosocial and somatic outcomes of sleep problems in children: a 4-year follow-up study. , 2014, Child: care, health and development.

[32]  C. Gillberg,et al.  The FTF (Five to Fifteen): the development of a parent questionnaire for the assessment of ADHD and comorbid conditions , 2004, European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.