Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Marília 17525-900, Brazil.
Albert Sabin Children's Hospital, Fortaleza 60410-790, Brazil.
Viruses. 2024 Jun 22;16(7):1003. doi: 10.3390/v16071003.
Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome (CZS) presents notable hurdles to neurodevelopment, with language development emerging as a crucial aspect. This study investigates sleep patterns and language skills in children with CZS, aiming to explore the potential synchronization of sleep development with their neurodevelopment.
We studied cross-sectionally 135 children with CZS aged 0 to 48 months, investigating sleep using the BISQ Questionnaire. Language development was assessed using the Early Language Milestone Scale, while motor development and cognitive and social ability were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Young Child Development 3rd edition. We also studied longitudinally a cohort of 16 children (initially aged 0 to 12 months) whom we followed for four years, assessing at one-year intervals.
Sleep disturbances and language deficits were highly frequent in this population. In the 0-12 months group, a late bedtime and frequent nighttime awakenings were associated with poorer auditory expressive skills. At 13-24 months, nighttime awakenings were associated with poorer auditory expressive skills, while among 25-36-month-olds decreased auditory receptive skills were associated with longer sleep onset latency and reduced nighttime sleep duration.
The brain alterations caused by Zika virus infection affect both sleep disturbances and delays in language development. It is possible that sleep disturbance may be a mediating factor in the pathway between CZS and delayed language development, as the three analyzed language skills showed a correlation with sleep parameters.
先天性寨卡病毒综合征（CZS）对神经发育有显著影响，语言发育是其中一个关键方面。本研究旨在探讨 CZS 患儿的睡眠模式和语言技能，以探索睡眠发育与神经发育同步的可能性。
我们对 0 至 48 个月的 135 名 CZS 患儿进行了横断面研究，使用 BISQ 问卷调查睡眠情况。使用早期语言里程碑量表评估语言发育，使用贝利婴幼儿发展量表第 3 版评估运动发育、认知和社会能力。我们还对 16 名儿童（最初年龄为 0 至 12 个月）进行了纵向研究，随访 4 年，每 1 年进行一次评估。
该人群中睡眠障碍和语言缺陷非常常见。在 0 至 12 个月组中，晚睡和频繁夜间觉醒与听觉表达技能较差有关。在 13 至 24 个月组中，夜间觉醒与听觉表达技能较差有关，而在 25 至 36 个月组中，听觉接受技能下降与入睡潜伏期延长和夜间睡眠时间减少有关。
寨卡病毒感染引起的大脑改变既影响睡眠障碍，也影响语言发育迟缓。睡眠障碍可能是 CZS 与语言发育迟缓之间的中介因素，因为分析的三种语言技能与睡眠参数相关。
