Bacaro Valeria, Chiabudini Marco, Buonanno Carlo, De Bartolo Paola, Riemann Dieter, Mancini Francesco, Baglioni Chiara
Human Sciences Department, University of Rome Guglielmo Marconi (Rome, IT).
Association of Cognitive Psychology, School of Cognitive Psychotherapy, Rome, Italy.
Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2021 Feb;18(1):13-27. doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20210102.
Italy faced one of the first large clusters of COVID-19 infections worldwide. Home confinement and social distancing could have negatively impacted sleep habits and prevalence of sleep disorders in children, which may be also linked with altered emotional processes. The present study focused on clinical aspects related to sleep, insomnia and emotions in Italian children aged 0-to-12 years during home confinement due to COVID-19 outbreak.
An online survey was systematically distributed in all Italian territories by contacting regional offices of the Italian Ministry of Instruction, University and Research (MIUR) and schools with available contact. All respondents had to be parents of at least one child aged 0 to 12 years old. Information on sociodemographic variables, sleep habits, sleep health behaviors, sleep disorders and mood were collected.
Parents of 2361 children (mean age: 8.1 ± 2.62 years; 1148 females; 1213 males) answered the survey. 1.2% of children was between 0 and 2 years old; 15.3% within 3 to 5 years and 83.3% within 6 and 12 years. In all group ages, late bedtime was observed (most of them after 9 p.m.). 59.4% of all children presented at least one clinical diagnostic criterion for childhood insomnia. Logistic regression model showed that presence of at least one criterion for childhood insomnia was associated to younger age, negative mood, current parental insomnia, being the only child, presence of any other sleep disorder, and sleep hygiene behaviors.
Data indicate an alarming increase of prevalence of insomnia related problems in Italian children during home confinement with respect to previous data. This was found to be associated with poor sleep hygiene and negative mood. Clinical programs targeting insomnia, sleep health behaviors and emotional processes should be implemented in pediatric primary care in order to prevent the development of sleep problems in a post-pandemic situation.
意大利是全球最早面临新冠病毒19感染大聚集的国家之一。居家隔离和社交距离可能对儿童的睡眠习惯和睡眠障碍患病率产生负面影响，这也可能与情绪过程的改变有关。本研究聚焦于因新冠疫情爆发而居家隔离期间，意大利0至12岁儿童与睡眠、失眠和情绪相关的临床方面。
通过联系意大利教育、大学和研究部（MIUR）的地区办公室以及有联系方式的学校，在意大利所有地区系统地开展了一项在线调查。所有受访者必须是至少一名0至12岁儿童的家长。收集了社会人口统计学变量、睡眠习惯、睡眠健康行为、睡眠障碍和情绪方面的信息。
2361名儿童（平均年龄：8.1±2.62岁；1148名女性；1213名男性）的家长回答了调查。1.2%的儿童年龄在0至2岁之间；15.3%在3至5岁之间，83.3%在6至12岁之间。在所有年龄组中，都观察到上床睡觉时间晚（大多数在晚上9点以后）。所有儿童中有59.4%至少呈现出一项儿童失眠的临床诊断标准。逻辑回归模型显示，至少一项儿童失眠标准的存在与年龄较小、情绪消极、父母当前失眠、是独生子女、存在任何其他睡眠障碍以及睡眠卫生行为有关。
数据表明，与之前的数据相比，意大利儿童在居家隔离期间失眠相关问题的患病率惊人地增加。这被发现与不良的睡眠卫生和消极情绪有关。在儿科初级保健中应实施针对失眠、睡眠健康行为和情绪过程的临床项目，以预防疫情后睡眠问题的发展。
