DelRosso Lourdes M, Vega-Flores German, Ferri Raffaele, Mogavero Maria P, Diamond Adele
Center for Clinical and Translational Research, University of Washington, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.
Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Internacional de Valencia, 46002 Valencia, Spain.
Brain Sci. 2022 Sep 24;12(10):1289. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12101289.
Restless sleep disorder affects children and is characterized by frequent nocturnal movements, iron deficiency, and daytime symptoms such as poor school performance or behavioral problems. Although sleep parameters have been thoroughly studied and daytime sleepiness has been previously assessed, neurocognitive and executive functions have not. In this study, we evaluated neurocognitive functions in a group of 13 children diagnosed with restless sleep disorder using the National Institute of Health Toolbox (NIH toolbox). The mean age was 10.62 (S.D. 2.785). Among them, seven were male and six were female. The fully corrected T-scores (adjusted for demographic variables: age, ethnicity, and education level) showed the lowest values for the Flanker test (selective attention) and dimensional change card sorting test (cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control), with a very large effect size vs. the corresponding expected frequencies. For all the other tests, the average scores were 50; however, individual children scored low on pattern recognition and two composite scores (fluid and total). In conclusion, these data support the fact that cognitive functions are affected in children with restless sleep disorder, especially selective attention. Clinicians must recognize sleep disorders and daytime impairment in order to promptly intervene and prevent cognitive impairments.
不安腿睡眠障碍影响儿童，其特征为夜间频繁活动、缺铁以及诸如学习成绩差或行为问题等日间症状。尽管睡眠参数已得到充分研究，且此前已对日间嗜睡情况进行过评估，但神经认知和执行功能尚未得到研究。在本研究中，我们使用美国国立卫生研究院工具箱（NIH工具箱）对一组13名被诊断为不安腿睡眠障碍的儿童的神经认知功能进行了评估。平均年龄为10.62岁（标准差2.785）。其中，7名男性，6名女性。完全校正的T分数（针对人口统计学变量：年龄、种族和教育水平进行了调整）显示，在侧翼任务测试（选择性注意力）和维度变化卡片分类测试（认知灵活性和抑制控制）中得分最低，与相应的预期频率相比效应量非常大。对于所有其他测试，平均分数为50；然而，个别儿童在模式识别和两个综合分数（流体智力和总分数）上得分较低。总之，这些数据支持了不安腿睡眠障碍儿童的认知功能受到影响这一事实，尤其是选择性注意力。临床医生必须认识到睡眠障碍和日间功能损害，以便及时进行干预并预防认知障碍。
