Department of Pediatrics, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Laboratory of Chronobiology, IMIB-Arrixaca, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
Pediatr Neurol. 2022 Jan;126:57-64. doi: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2021.09.009. Epub 2021 Oct 1.
Sleep problems are a prevalent comorbidity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with a multifactorial basis in which circadian misalignment has been described.
A cross-sectional study was conducted including 52 children and adolescents with ASD (9.85 ± 3.07) and 27 children and adolescent controls with normal intellectual functioning (8.81 ± 2.14). They were matched for age, sex, and body mass index, and all were drug-naïve. An ambulatory circadian monitoring device was used to record temperature and motor, body position, sleep, and light intensity.
Individuals with ASD presented longer sleep-onset latency, lower sleep efficiency, and decreased total sleep time and tended to be more sedentary and have less exposure to light. They also showed lower amplitude, low interdaily stability, and a different pattern of wrist temperature across the day, with a midpoint of sleep that did not concur with sleep midpoint indicated by the rest of circadian parameters.
The sleep problems observed in this sample resemble those reported previously, with the exception of nocturnal awakenings which did not show differences. The ambulatory circadian monitoring device enabled measurement of circadian parameters such as temperature which, until now, were scarcely described in children with ASD and could be used to better understand sleep and circadian system in ASD.
睡眠问题是自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的一种普遍共病，其具有多因素基础，其中已经描述了昼夜节律失调。
进行了一项横断面研究，纳入 52 名 ASD 儿童和青少年（9.85±3.07）和 27 名智力正常的儿童和青少年对照（8.81±2.14）。他们在年龄、性别和体重指数方面相匹配，并且均为药物初治者。使用可移动的昼夜节律监测设备来记录温度、运动、身体姿势、睡眠和光照强度。
ASD 个体表现出更长的入睡潜伏期、更低的睡眠效率、总睡眠时间减少，并且更倾向于久坐不动，光照暴露减少。他们的振幅也较低，日间内稳定性差，手腕温度的模式也不同，睡眠中点与其余昼夜节律参数所示的睡眠中点不一致。
本研究样本中观察到的睡眠问题与之前报道的相似，除了夜间觉醒没有差异。可移动的昼夜节律监测设备能够测量昼夜节律参数，如温度，这些参数在以前很少在 ASD 儿童中描述，并且可以用于更好地理解 ASD 中的睡眠和昼夜节律系统。
