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Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol
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Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol

Published on: February 18, 2012

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Sleep and 24-hour rhythm characteristics in preschool children born very preterm and full term

Alja Bijlsma1, Victoria A A Beunders1, Demi J Dorrepaal2

  • 1Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus MC Sophia Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine : JCSM : Official Publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
|January 20, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Preschoolers born very preterm exhibit similar sleep patterns to full-term peers, with no significant differences in reported sleep problems. However, actigraphy revealed very preterm children wake approximately 21 minutes later.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Chronobiology

Background:

  • Sleep is crucial for quality of life and is linked to cardiometabolic and neurocognitive health.
  • Limited data exists on sleep patterns in preschool-aged children born preterm.
  • Understanding sleep in this population is vital for assessing long-term outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and compare sleep characteristics and 24-hour rhythms in very preterm-born children versus full-term children at preschool age.
  • To identify potential differences in sleep quality, quantity, and timing between these groups.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective cohort study involving 97 very preterm (gestational age < 30 weeks) and 92 full-term children at a corrected age of 3 years.
  • Utilized parent-reported questionnaires (Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire, Munich Chronotype Questionnaire) and objective measures (wrist actigraphy for at least 3 days with sleep diaries).
  • Regression analyses were performed, adjusting for sex, age, and birth weight standard deviation score.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences were found in reported sleep problems or overall sleep parameters between the very preterm and full-term groups.
  • Actigraphy data indicated similar sleep and 24-hour rhythms between groups.
  • A statistically significant finding was that very preterm children woke approximately 21 minutes later than full-term children (adjusted P = .001).

Conclusions:

  • Very preterm-born children demonstrate largely comparable sleep patterns to their full-term peers at 3 years corrected age, based on both subjective reports and objective actigraphy.
  • While reported sleep issues are similar, objective data suggests a potential delay in wake-up time for preterm infants.
  • Further research is recommended to explore the relationship between preterm birth, sleep, and long-term cardiometabolic and neurodevelopmental outcomes, and to evaluate the efficacy of early interventions for optimizing sleep and circadian rhythms.
Abstract

Keywords:
BOND studyPLUTO studyactigraphycircadian rhythminter-daily stabilityintra-daily variabilitysleep problemtoddlers

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