The prevalence and patterns of sleep problem in children with ADHD

Abstract

© 2018, Medical Association of Thailand. All rights reserved. Objective: To determine the prevalence and patterns of sleep problems in children with Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] as well as to identify several factors associated sleep problems. Materials and Methods: This present study was a cross-sectional, descriptive study. Ninety- six parents whose children were diagnosed with ADHD in their first visit responded to a questionnaire. The items in the questionnaire included questions about demographic data and questions related to sleep problems chosen from a Child Behavior Checklist (Thai version) and the literature review. The prevalence and patterns of sleep problem are presented as descriptive statistics. Factors associated with sleep problems were analyzed by Chi-square test and logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of sleep problems was found to be 72.9%. Their patterns were the following: needing the parents to stay with them at bedtime (38.5%); fear of sleeping in the dark (30.2%); and hard to fall asleep (24%). The factors associated with the sleep problems were the age of the children, adjusted OR = 7.47 (1.97 to 28.34), and the perception of the parents on their child’s sleep problems, adjusted OR = 7.80 (1.92 to 31.68). Namely, children under 11 years old were more likely to have a sleep problem than children over 11 years old. Children whose parents had been aware of some signs of their sleep problems were more likely to have a real sleep problem than those whose parents had not been aware. Conclusion: The prevalence of sleep problems in ADHD children before coming for treatment was high. Most sleep problems occurred at the time they were going to bed. For these reasons, it is essential to identified children’s sleep problems before an ADHD treatment is prescribed.