Hsu Hui-Chin
Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2017 Apr;38(3):215-223. doi: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000000428.
Night awakening is a common concern for parents and professionals in early childhood and a risk factor for child growth and development. This study examined the concurrent and longitudinal associations of night awakening with child health and illness during the first 3 years of life.
Longitudinal data from 1364 infants in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were used in this study. At ages 6, 15, 24, and 36 months, mothers reported on the frequency of their child's night awakening in the past week, overall health, and occurrences of illness. Information on demographic factors, including child sex and ethnicity/race, maternal education, and family income as well as child breastfeeding status was obtained at 1 month. Structural equation modeling, including latent growth curve modeling, was performed.
Age-related changes in weekly frequency of night awakening and overall child health were characterized by curvilinear patterns between 6 and 36 months. Although more frequent night awakenings were associated with poorer health at 6 months, a faster decline in night awakenings was associated with a slowed health decline over time. Furthermore, more frequent night awakenings were concurrently associated with more occurrences of illness at ages 6, 15, and 24 months. The association between night awakening and illness dissipated by 36 months.
Night awakening is concurrently and longitudinally associated with poorer health and more illnesses in early childhood.
夜间醒来是幼儿家长和专业人士普遍关注的问题，也是儿童生长发育的一个风险因素。本研究考察了夜间醒来与儿童生命最初3年健康及疾病状况的同时期关联和纵向关联。
本研究使用了来自美国国立儿童健康与人类发展研究所早期儿童保育与青少年发展研究中1364名婴儿的纵向数据。在孩子6个月、15个月、24个月和36个月大时，母亲报告孩子过去一周夜间醒来的频率、整体健康状况及患病情况。在孩子1个月大时获取了包括孩子性别和种族、母亲教育程度、家庭收入以及孩子母乳喂养状况等人口统计学因素的信息。进行了结构方程模型分析，包括潜在增长曲线模型分析。
6至36个月期间，夜间醒来的每周频率和儿童整体健康状况的年龄相关变化呈曲线模式。虽然夜间醒来频率较高与6个月时较差的健康状况相关，但夜间醒来频率下降较快与健康状况随时间推移下降减缓相关。此外，在6个月、15个月和24个月大时，夜间醒来频率较高同时与更多的患病情况相关。夜间醒来与疾病之间的关联在36个月时消失。
夜间醒来在幼儿期与较差的健康状况和更多的疾病同时存在纵向关联。
