Frequently reported sleep problems in children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) referred to a pediatric sleep medicine center were assessed and compared with objective sleep assessments. A retrospective review of 97 children with ADHD (mean age of 8.3 ± 3.0 years) was conducted. Polysomnography in 69 children revealed periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) in 36% and sleep-disordered breathing in 7%, while actigraphy uncovered substantial variability in sleep schedules of 16 patients. Although parental subjective sleep complaints were verified by objective sleep assessments in a small proportion of cases, PLMD and night-to-night variability in sleep patterns were common.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
1. American Psychiatric Association. Dignostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. DSM-IV-TR (Text-Revision). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
2.
2. Corkum P, Tannock R, Moldofsky H. Sleep disturbances in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1998;37:637-646.
3.
3. Kaplan BJ, Mc Nicol J, Conte RA, Moghadam HK. Sleep disturbance in preschool-aged hyperactive and non-hyperactive children. Pediatrics. 1987;80:839-844.
4.
4. Owens JA, Maxim R, Nobile C, Mc Guinn M, Msall M. Parental and self-report of sleep in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2000; 154:549-555.
5.
5. Ring A, Stein D, Barak Y, Teicher A, Hadjez J, Elizur A, Weizman A. Sleep disturbances in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Comparative study with healthy siblings. J Learning Disab. 1998;31:572-578.
6.
6. Trommer BL, Hoeppner JB, Rosenberg RS, Armstrong KJ, Rothstein JA. Sleep disturbance in children with attention deficit disorder. Ann Neurol. 1988;24:322-322.
7.
7. Busby K, Firestone P, Pivik RT. Sleep patterns in hyperkinetic and normal children. Sleep. 1981;4:366-383.
8.
8. Khan AU. Sleep REM latency in hyperkinetic boys. Am J Psychiatry. 1982;139:1358-1360.
9.
9. Ramos Platon MJ, Bueno AV, Sierra JE, Kales S. Hypnopolygraphic alter-ations in Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) children. Int J Neurosci. 1990;53:87-101.
10.
10. Palm L, Persson E, Bjerre I, Elmqvist D, Blennow G. Sleep and wakefulness in preadolescent children with deficits in attention, motor control and perception. Acta Pediatr. 1992; 81:618-624.
11.
11. Gruber R, Sadeh A, Raviv A. Instability of sleep patterns in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2000;39:495-501.
12.
12. Chervin RD, Archbold KH. Hyperactivity and polysomnographic findings in children evaluated for sleep-disordered breathing. Sleep. 2001;24:313-320.
13.
13. Corkum P, Moldofsky H, Hogg-Johnson S, Humphries T, Tannock R. Sleep problems in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: impact of subtype, comorbidity, and stimulant medication. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1999;38:1285-1293.
14.
14. Corkum P, Tannock R, Moldofsky H, Hogg-Johnson S, Humphries T. Actigraphy and parental ratings of sleep in children with attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder (ADHD). Sleep. 2001;24:303-312.
15.
15. Mick E, Biederman J, Jetton J, Faraone SV. Sleep disturbances associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: the impact of psychiatric comorbidity and pharmacotherapy. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2000;10:223-231.
16.
16. Picchietti DL, England SJ, Walters AS, Willis K, Verrico,T. Periodic limb movement disorder and restless legs syndrome in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. J Child Neurol. 1998;13:588-594.
17.
17. Picchietti DL, Underwood DJ, Farris WA, et al. Further studies on periodic limb movement disorder and restless legs syndrome in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Mov Disord. 1999;14:1000-1007.
18.
18. Jellinek M, Murphy J. Pediatric symptom checklist. Pediatr Dev Behav. 1999. Available at: http://www.dbpeds.org/handouts.
19.
19. Edelbrock C. Clinical attention problem scale. Pediatr Dev Behav. 1986. Available at: http://www.dbbeds.org/handouts.
20.
20. Sadeh A, Acebo C. The role of actigraphy in sleep medicine. Sleep Med Rev. 2002;6:113-124.
21.
21. Teicher MH. Actigraphy and motion analysis: New tools for psychiatry. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 1995;3:18-35.
22.
22. Sadeh A, Hauri PJ, Kripke DF, Lavie P. The role of actigraphy in the evaluation of sleep disorders. Sleep. 1995;18:288-302.
23.
23. Picchietti DL, Walters AS. Moderate to severe periodic limb movement disorder in childhood and adolescence. Sleep. 1999;22:297-300.
24.
24. O'Brien LM, Holbrook CR, Mervis CB, et al. Sleep and neurobehavioral characteristics in 5to 7-year-old hyperactive children. Pediatrics. 2003; 111:554-563.
25.
25. Ferreira AM, Clemente V, Gozal D, et al. Snoring in Portuguese primary school children. Pediatrics. 2000;106: 5:e64-e64.
26.
26. Hulcrantz E, Lofstarnd TB, Ahlquist RJ. The epidemiology of sleep related breathing disorders in children. Int J Pediatr Otorhinol. 1995;6(suppl):S63-S66.
27.
27. Chervin RD, Dillon JE, Bassetti C, Ganoczy DA, Pituch KJ. Symptoms of sleep disorders, inattention, and hyperactivity in children. Sleep. 1997;20:1185-1192.
28.
28. Chervin RD, Archbold KH, Dillon JE, et al. Inattention, hyperactivity, and symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing. Pediatrics. 2002;109:449-456.
29.
29. Smedje H, Broman JE, Hetta J. Parents' reports of disturbed sleep in 5to 7-year-old Swedish children. Acta Paediatr1999;88:858-865.
30.
30. Crabtree VM, Ivanenko A, O'Brien, LM, Gozal D. Periodic limb movement disorder of sleep in children. J Sleep Res. 2003;12:73-81.
31.
31. Day HD, Abmayr SB. Parent reports of sleep disturbances in stimulant-medicated children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. J Clin Psychol. 1998;54:701-716.
32.
32. MTA Cooperative Group. Moderators and mediators of treatment response for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: the multimodal treatment study of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999;56:1088-1096.
