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Sleep problems in Australian children with Down syndrome: the need for greater awareness
Jasneek K Chawla1, Aidan Howard2, Scott Burgess1
1Department of Paediatric Respiratory & Sleep Medicine, Queensland Children's Hospital, Australia; School of Clinical Medicine, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia.
Insights
Sleep problems are highly prevalent in Australian children with Down syndrome (DS), affecting both community and clinic groups. Many children with DS experience sleep difficulties, including non-respiratory issues, who may not be receiving adequate care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Genetics and Developmental Disorders
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Children with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit a high incidence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).
- Non-respiratory sleep disorders are also common in DS but are often underdiagnosed.
- This study addresses the prevalence of sleep difficulties in Australian children with DS.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the prevalence of sleep difficulties in a community sample of Australian children with Down syndrome (DScomm).
- To compare sleep problems in community-based children with DS to those referred to a sleep clinic (DSref).
- To identify the extent of undiagnosed sleep issues in children with DS.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study utilizing the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ).
- Data collected from parents of children with DS recruited from the community and a tertiary sleep clinic.
- Comparison of CSHQ scores between the community (DScomm) and referred (DSref) groups.
Main Results:
- Overall sleep disturbance prevalence was 90.9% in DScomm and 85.7% in DSref.
- A statistically significant higher mean total CSHQ score was observed in the DScomm group (p=0.023).
- No significant difference in overall prevalence between the two groups (p=0.54).
Conclusions:
- A high prevalence of sleep problems exists in both community and referred Australian children with DS.
- Many children with DS experience sleep difficulties, especially non-respiratory ones, potentially leading to inadequate treatment.
- Further investigation and intervention for sleep disorders in children with DS are warranted.
Background:
Children with Down Syndrome (DS) have a high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Non-respiratory sleep disorders also occur commonly but are less well recognised. This cross-sectional study evaluates the prevalence of sleep difficulties in a community sample of Australian children with DS (DScomm), using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), and compares them to children referred to the sleep clinic (DSref). To our knowledge this is the first study to have reported prevalence of sleep problems in Australian children with DS and to compare a community and referred group of children with DS directly.
Methods:
The CSHQ was completed by parents of children with DS recruited from the community (DScomm) via survey distributed by Down syndrome Queensland and Australia. A second group was recruited through the tertiary sleep clinic at our institution (DSref) and completed the same questionnaire on enrolment. Data from these groups was compared.
Results:
There were 76 participants in the DScomm group (57% male; median age 9.7yrs) and 42 participants in the DSref group (50% male; median age 6.97yrs). The overall prevalence of sleep disturbances was 90.9% in the DScomm group, and 85.7% in the DSref group (p = 0.54). There was a statistically significant difference in the mean total CSHQ score, with the DScomm having the higher score (p = 0.023).
Conclusions:
This study reports a high prevalence of sleep problems in both a community and referred group of Australian children with DS and suggests that there are many children with DS with sleep problems, particularly non-respiratory difficulties, who are potentially not receiving adequate treatment.
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