Subjective sleep disturbances in children with partial epilepsy and their effects on quality of life
Th Gutter1, O F Brouwer, A W de Weerd
1Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and Sleep Centre SEIN, Zwolle, The Netherlands. tgutter@sein.nl
Insights
Children with partial epilepsy experience significantly more sleep disturbances and lower quality of life compared to healthy peers. These sleep issues are more prevalent and severe in children with epilepsy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Sleep Medicine
- Quality of Life Research
Background:
- Sleep disturbances are common in children, impacting overall health.
- Partial epilepsy in children can affect various aspects of well-being.
- Understanding the link between epilepsy, sleep, and quality of life is crucial for effective management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of sleep disturbances in school-aged children with partial epilepsy.
- To compare sleep patterns in children with and without epilepsy.
- To assess the relationship between sleep disturbances and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in these children.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 130 children (4-10 years) with partial epilepsy and 161 age/sex-matched controls were studied.
- Parents completed validated questionnaires assessing sleep (SDSC, MOSS-S, GSQS) and quality of life (Kidscreen-27).
- Epilepsy severity was assessed using the Hague Scales for the epilepsy group.
Main Results:
- Children with epilepsy showed significantly worse sleep across all measured parameters compared to controls.
- Pathological sleep disturbance scores (SDSC T-value>70) were twelve times more frequent in children with epilepsy (36.92% vs. 3.01%).
- Children with epilepsy reported significantly lower HRQoL across all dimensions; those with sleep disturbances had the lowest scores.
Conclusions:
- Partial epilepsy is associated with a high prevalence of sleep disturbances in children.
- Sleep disturbances in children with epilepsy are more common and severe than in their non-epileptic peers.
- Impaired sleep significantly affects the health-related quality of life in children with partial epilepsy.
Purpose:
The purposes of this study were to explore the prevalence of sleep disturbances in a large cohort of school-aged children with partial epilepsy, to compare the findings with those in children without epilepsy of the same age and gender, and to evaluate the relationship between sleep disturbances and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
Methods:
One hundred thirty children with partial epilepsy aged 4 to 10years, who were treated in the outpatient setting of a Dutch epilepsy clinic, and 161 age- and sex-matched controls participated in this study. In addition to providing information about their child's demography and health, parents of both groups of children completed three questionnaires to measure their child's sleep [Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC), Medical Outcomes Study-Sleep Scale (MOSS-S), and Groningen Sleep Quality Scale (GSQS)] and one questionnaire to measure quality of life (Kidscreen-27). Parents of children with epilepsy also completed the Hague Scales to measure the severity of epilepsy. The prevalence of sleep disturbances and scores on HRQoL in children with and without epilepsy were compared. Additionally, the HRQoL scores were compared between children with and without sleep disturbances in children both with and without epilepsy.
Results:
The answers for all three questionnaires suggested worse sleep in children with epilepsy than in children of the same age and gender without epilepsy. Pathological scores (T-value>70) for total SDSC were seen twelve times more frequently in children with epilepsy (36.92% vs. 3.01%, p<0.001). Children with epilepsy also scored significantly lower for all dimensions of HRQoL. Between subgroups of children with and without disturbed sleep, insignificant differences in quality of life were found, with the lowest scores in children with sleep disturbances in both groups.
Conclusion:
This study confirms the high prevalence of disturbed sleep, as well as its effect on quality of life, in a large group of children with partial epilepsy. The abnormalities are both more prevalent and more severe than in children without epilepsy.
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