Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026
07:40
Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults
Published on: January 26, 2019
Sleep disturbances in children with multiple disabilities.
Anna-Lena Tietze1, Markus Blankenburg, Tanja Hechler
1Vodafone Foundation Institute and Chair for Children's Pain Therapy and Paediatric Palliative Care, Witten/Herdecke University, Children's Hospital Datteln, 45711 Datteln, Germany. a.tietze@kinderklinik-datteln.de
Sleep Medicine Reviews
|May 31, 2011
Summary
Sleep disturbances are common in disabled children, affecting 67% of those studied. Research highlights the need for validated tools to assess sleep issues and develop effective treatments for this population.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Child Neurology
- Disability Studies
Background:
- Sleep disturbances are clinically significant in disabled children, yet research is limited.
- Data on the frequency, severity, and causes of sleep disturbances in this group are scarce.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing research on sleep disturbances in disabled children.
- To identify future research objectives in this area.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature search was conducted across international databases (1980-2009).
- Information on sample characteristics, sleep assessment tools, and their quality criteria was extracted.
- Findings from 61 publications involving 4392 patients were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Sleep disturbances were prevalent in 67% of disabled children (76% in mixed diagnoses, 65% in specified diagnoses).
- Prevalence exceeded 90% in children with severe global cerebral injury.
- Insomnia and sleep-related respiratory disorders were the most frequent symptoms, sometimes linked to specific medical syndromes.
Conclusions:
- There is a critical need for sleep disturbance assessment tools validated for disabled children.
- Validated tools will enable investigation into causative patient factors and development of targeted treatments.
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