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Sleep and psychiatric symptoms in young child psychiatric outpatients - a Follow-up study
Tiia Kuha1,2, Taru Saarelainen1,2, Hanna Huhdanpää1,2
1Child Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Insights
Sleep problems are common and lasting in child psychiatric patients, predicting future issues and linking to psychiatric symptoms. Early identification and treatment are crucial for these children.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychiatry
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Limited understanding of sleep problem continuity in child psychiatric patients.
- Scarce data on the link between sleep and psychiatric symptoms in this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the persistence of sleep problems in child psychiatric outpatients.
- Examine how preschool sleep predicts school-age sleep issues and psychiatric symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 68 child psychiatry outpatients (ages 4-7 at baseline, 8-13 at follow-up).
- Utilized the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for assessments.
- Collected family background information at both time points.
Main Results:
- Preschool sleep problems significantly predicted school-age sleep problems (R2Adjusted = .48, p < .001).
- Persistent sleep problems strongly correlated with psychiatric symptom severity (p = .001).
- Sleep problems predicted internalizing symptoms, even after controlling for baseline factors (p = .038).
Conclusions:
- Sleep problems are prevalent and persistent in children receiving child psychiatric care.
- A significant relationship exists between persistent sleep issues and psychiatric symptoms.
- Highlights the critical need for early identification and intervention for sleep problems in this vulnerable group.
Background:
Knowledge of the continuity of sleep problems and the associations between sleep and psychiatric symptoms in child psychiatric patients is scarce.
Objectives:
To investigate the persistency of sleep problems and how sleep at preschool age predicts sleep problems and psychiatric symptoms at school age in child psychiatric patients.
Methods:
Participants (n = 68) were child psychiatry outpatients at Helsinki University Hospital in 2015-2017. Caregivers evaluated sleep with the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) and psychiatric symptoms with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at baseline (age 4-7 years) and again at follow-up (age 8-13 years). Family background information was collected at both time points.
Results:
Sleep problems at preschool age predicted sleep problems at school age (R2Adjusted = .48, p < .001). Persistent sleep problems associated strongly with the intensity of psychiatric symptoms (p = .001). Internalizing symptoms were predicted by sleep problems (p = .038) even after controlling for age, sex, and psychiatric symptoms at preschool age.
Conclusion:
Sleep problems are prevalent and persistent and relate to psychiatric symptoms in children treated at child psychiatry clinics. These results emphasize the need for identification and treatment of sleep problems in these children.
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