[Sleep problems among school age children in Chengdu].

OBJECTIVE

To identify the sleep patterns and sleep problems in the children of school age in Chengdu. Methods In 2005, 2848 children of school age were randomly selected from five districts in Chengdu to participants in a questionnaire survey. The sleep behaviors of the participants and their determinants were investigated.

RESULTS

The sleeping time decreased with age (P<0.05). More than half of the participants (58.08%) had sleep disorders, which included enuresis (5.65%), sleeptalking (16.15%), sleepinquietude (34.34%), sleepwalking (2.84%), bruxism (22.86%), snoring (10.92%), sleep apnoea (0.77%), decompensation (3.12%), and nightmares (11.76%). The boys had greater prevalence of sleepwalking and snoring than the girls. There was a significant age difference for sleepinquietude and bruxism. The factors that had an impact on the sleep disorders included: after school classes, neuro-medication and foods, exciting activities, depressive moods of mothers or caregivers, and allergic reactions to medicines and foods.

CONCLUSION

Sleep deprivations and high prevalence of sleep disorders among the school age children in Chengdu need to be addressed.