Esbensen Anna J, Schworer Emily K, Hoffman Emily K, Wiley Susan
Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA.
Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.
Brain Sci. 2021 Sep 3;11(9):1170. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11091170.
Sleep problems have a bi-directional impact on the daytime performance of children, parental well-being, and overall family functioning in the general population. Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at a high risk of sleep problems, yet the relationship between sleep problems, adaptive functioning, and family stress in children with DS is not well documented. We examined the relationship between sleep (i.e., duration and quality) and child and parent/family functioning. Sixty-six children with DS wore an actigraph for a week to assess their sleep duration and sleep efficiency. Their parents completed ratings on child sleep duration and parasomnias, child adaptive functioning, parental depression and sleep, and family stress. The parents' reports of their children's sleep duration were associated with parental depressive symptoms. The parents' reports of their children's restless sleep behaviors were associated with poorer performances in child-compliant/calm behaviors, worse parental sleep, and negative parental feelings and sibling relationships. The findings from actigraph measures of the children's sleep demonstrated that greater sleep efficiency was associated with greater child adaptive functioning and fewer parental depressive symptoms. The study findings provide preliminary evidence that sleep problems are related to child adaptive functioning, parental functioning, and family stress in children with DS.
睡眠问题对儿童的日间表现、父母的幸福感以及普通人群的家庭整体功能有着双向影响。唐氏综合征（DS）患儿存在睡眠问题的风险较高，然而，DS患儿睡眠问题、适应性功能和家庭压力之间的关系尚无充分记录。我们研究了睡眠（即时长和质量）与儿童及父母/家庭功能之间的关系。66名DS患儿佩戴活动记录仪一周，以评估他们的睡眠时间和睡眠效率。他们的父母完成了关于儿童睡眠时间和异态睡眠、儿童适应性功能、父母抑郁与睡眠以及家庭压力的评分。父母对孩子睡眠时间的报告与父母的抑郁症状有关。父母对孩子不安睡眠行为的报告与孩子顺从/平静行为表现较差、父母睡眠质量较差以及父母负面情绪和兄弟姐妹关系有关。通过活动记录仪对儿童睡眠的测量结果表明，更高的睡眠效率与更好的儿童适应性功能以及更少的父母抑郁症状相关。研究结果提供了初步证据，表明睡眠问题与DS患儿的儿童适应性功能、父母功能和家庭压力有关。
