TY - JOUR
AU - C. O'Rourke
AU - R. S. C. Horne
AU - G. M. Nixon
AU - K. R. Harris
AU - A. Connelly
AU - A. Crichton
A1 - 
AB - OBJECTIVE: Sleep disturbance is an important feature of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). We sought to describe sleep patterns in school-aged children with FASD, in comparison with a typically developing community group, and investigate the relationship between sleep and neurodevelopmental profiles. METHOD: The FASD cohort (N = 36) was recruited from a tertiary Australian FASD diagnostic center, and the typically developing group (N = 36) was previously recruited as a control cohort for a separate study. Sleep disturbance was assessed with the caregiver-completed Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) questionnaire. Neurodevelopmental assessment results for the 10 domains impaired in FASD were used for correlations with sleep disturbance. RESULTS: In the FASD group, 80% of children scored above the SDSC cutoff, compared with 22% of the control group ( p < 0.001). Statistically significant group differences were seen for all 6 subscales of the SDSC ( p < 0.05). The most frequently affected domains in the FASD group related to difficulties with initiating and maintaining sleep (58%), sleep-wake transition disorders (44%), and disorders of arousal (42%). A statistically significant relationship was not found between sleep and the severity of neurodevelopmental impairment or impairment of a particular domain, acknowledging the limitations of our small sample size. Half of the FASD sample (52%) were taking a pharmaceutical agent to support sleep, which was not associated with lower SDSC scores. CONCLUSION: In this small study, sleep disturbances were frequently reported by carers of children with FASD, independent of the severity of their neurodevelopmental impairments. Persistent sleep disturbance despite the use of sleep medications highlights the need for prospective studies exploring sleep interventions in this population. Integration of behavioral sleep medicine into management is recommended for all children with FASD.
AD - Victorian Fetal Alcohol Service, Developmental Pediatrics, Monash Children's Hospital, Monash Health, Melbourne, Australia.; Department of Pediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia ; and.; Melbourne Children's Sleep Centre, Monash Children's Hospital, Monash Health, Melbourne, Australia .
AN - 38990137
BT - J Dev Behav Pediatr
C5 - Opioids & Substance Use; Healthcare Disparities; Medically Unexplained Symptoms
CP - 4
DA - Jul-Aug 01
DO - 10.1097/dbp.0000000000001282
DP - NLM
ET - 20240710
IS - 4
JF - J Dev Behav Pediatr
LA - eng
N2 - OBJECTIVE: Sleep disturbance is an important feature of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). We sought to describe sleep patterns in school-aged children with FASD, in comparison with a typically developing community group, and investigate the relationship between sleep and neurodevelopmental profiles. METHOD: The FASD cohort (N = 36) was recruited from a tertiary Australian FASD diagnostic center, and the typically developing group (N = 36) was previously recruited as a control cohort for a separate study. Sleep disturbance was assessed with the caregiver-completed Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) questionnaire. Neurodevelopmental assessment results for the 10 domains impaired in FASD were used for correlations with sleep disturbance. RESULTS: In the FASD group, 80% of children scored above the SDSC cutoff, compared with 22% of the control group ( p < 0.001). Statistically significant group differences were seen for all 6 subscales of the SDSC ( p < 0.05). The most frequently affected domains in the FASD group related to difficulties with initiating and maintaining sleep (58%), sleep-wake transition disorders (44%), and disorders of arousal (42%). A statistically significant relationship was not found between sleep and the severity of neurodevelopmental impairment or impairment of a particular domain, acknowledging the limitations of our small sample size. Half of the FASD sample (52%) were taking a pharmaceutical agent to support sleep, which was not associated with lower SDSC scores. CONCLUSION: In this small study, sleep disturbances were frequently reported by carers of children with FASD, independent of the severity of their neurodevelopmental impairments. Persistent sleep disturbance despite the use of sleep medications highlights the need for prospective studies exploring sleep interventions in this population. Integration of behavioral sleep medicine into management is recommended for all children with FASD.
PY - 2024
SN - 0196-206x
SP - e358
EP - e364+
ST - Sleep Disturbance in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and the Relationship to the Neurodevelopmental Profile
T1 - Sleep Disturbance in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and the Relationship to the Neurodevelopmental Profile
T2 - J Dev Behav Pediatr
TI - Sleep Disturbance in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and the Relationship to the Neurodevelopmental Profile
U1 - Opioids & Substance Use; Healthcare Disparities; Medically Unexplained Symptoms
U3 - 10.1097/dbp.0000000000001282
VL - 45
VO - 0196-206x
Y1 - 2024
ER -