Sleepy Kids Behaving Badly
December 22, 2004(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Kids who act up might really just be having trouble getting a good night’s sleep, report researchers publishing in this month’s issue of Pediatrics.
Researchers say children with even mild sleep disordered breathing, or SDB, are more likely to suffer from behavioral problems.
The study involved about 830 children ages 8 to 11. There were about an equal number of boys and girls in the study, and about half the group was black.
All the children underwent in-home sleep testing to check for obstructive sleep apnea. Parents also reported whether the children snored or not. Then the children were assessed for behavioral problems using two standard parent rating questionnaires.
Results show about 5 percent of the kids had OSA. Another 15 percent were regular snorers. Compared with the kids who had neither condition, those with the sleep problems were more likely to have behavioral problems, particularly those related to externalizing and hyperactivity. These children also had more psychosomatic complaints and social problems, such as being labeled “unpopular.”
The researchers note the findings are remarkable in that even snoring alone, without OSA, led to increased risk for the behavioral problems.
The authors call for more study on the link between sleep and behavioral problems in children, noting more aggressive screening, diagnosis and treatment of children for sleep disordered breathing may be needed to head off behavioral problems that can impact a child’s social and school performance.
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SOURCE: Pediatrics, 2004;114:1640-1648