Sleep Disturbances in Children Aged 3-36 Months With Atopic Dermatitis and Their Association With Parental Sleep...

Sleep disturbances are among the most burdensome consequences of atopic dermatitis (AD), yet data on infant sleep and its impact on parental sleep quality remain limited. To evaluate sleep characteristics in infants with AD, assess parental sleep quality, and investigate the associations between disease severity, infant sleep disturbances, and parental sleep outcomes.

In this controlled cross-sectional study, 55 infants aged 3-36 months with AD and 60 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled. Disease severity was assessed using the SCORAD index. Infant sleep was evaluated with the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire-Revised (BISQ-R), and parental sleep quality with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors independently associated with infant and parental sleep impairment.

Compared with healthy controls, infants with AD had significantly shorter nighttime sleep duration, longer nighttime wakefulness, and a higher prevalence of poor sleeper status (56.4% vs. 30.0%, p = 0.004). Parents of infants with AD had significantly higher global PSQI scores and a greater prevalence of poor sleep quality (50.9% vs. 28.3%, p = 0.013). Poor sleeper status was strongly associated with poor parental sleep quality (p < 0.001). Increasing SCORAD scores independently predicted both infant sleep impairment (OR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.11) and poor parental sleep quality (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.12).

AD is associated with significant impairment of both infant and parental sleep, with sleep disturbances becoming more pronounced as disease severity increases. The close relationship between infant and parental sleep highlights the importance of incorporating routine sleep assessment into the family-centered clinical management of infants with AD.