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Children's sleep patterns, particularly rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and stage IV sleep, are affected by growth disorders and age. Sleep disturbances in children with growth issues reveal unique sleep architecture changes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Sleep is intrinsically linked to hormonal secretion, impacting growth and development.
- Understanding sleep patterns in children with growth disorders is crucial for comprehensive care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate sleep architecture in children with growth and developmental disorders.
- To compare sleep patterns between children with disorders and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Home-based polysomnography using portable electroencephalogram (EEG) and electro-oculogram (EOG) recorders.
- Monitoring sleep over two consecutive nights in 30 children with growth disorders and 33 healthy children.
- Analysis of sleep parameters including total sleep time, REM sleep, stage IV sleep, and REM latency across different age groups.
Main Results:
- Total sleep time decreased with age, primarily due to reduced stage IV and REM sleep.
- Children with genetic short stature or poor eating habits showed increased REM sleep percentage.
- Severe psychosocial deprivation was associated with decreased stage IV sleep, increased REM sleep, and reduced REM cycling time.
- Constitutional delay of growth and puberty correlated with increased REM cycling time and reduced overall REM sleep.
Conclusions:
- Sleep architecture is significantly altered in children with various growth and developmental disorders.
- Specific sleep disturbances are linked to different etiologies of growth issues, including genetic, nutritional, psychosocial, and constitutional factors.
- These findings highlight the importance of assessing sleep in the context of pediatric growth and development.
Abstract:
The sleep of 30 children with disorders of growth and development was studied because of the known association between sleep and the secretion of hormones. Thirty three normal children were studied for comparison. The sleep of two consecutive nights was monitored at home using a small portable electroencephalogram and electro-oculogram recorder. Within the normal group there were no significant differences between sexes nor between the first and second nights of recording. There was a significant decrease in total sleep time with increasing age due to reduction in the amounts of rapid eye movement sleep and stage IV sleep. There was no change in rapid eye movement latency or overall rapid eye movement activity between the three age groups. Children with genetic short stature and those with poor growth as a result of poor eating habits had an increased percentage of rapid eye movement sleep. A significant decrease in the percentage of stage IV sleep, increased amount of rapid eye movement sleep (especially active rapid eye movement sleep), and decreased rapid eye movement cycling time was found in five children with severe psychosocial deprivation. Children with constitutional delay of growth and puberty had an increased rapid eye movement cycling time and thus less rapid eye movement sleep over the whole night.