Sleep patterns in children with ADHD: a population‐based cohort study from birth to 11 years

• Published in: Journal of sleep research 2013-04, Vol.22 (2), p.121-128
• Main Authors: Scott, Nicola, Blair, Peter S., Emond, Alan M., Fleming, Peter J., Humphreys, Joanna S., Henderson, John, Gringras, Paul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age Factors; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - complications; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - physiopathology; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children; Child; Child, Preschool; Children and Adolescents; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Prospective Studies; sleep; Sleep - physiology; Sleep Wake Disorders - complications; Sleep Wake Disorders - physiopathology; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0962-1105; 1365-2869
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2012.01054.x

Summary Associations between sleep duration and disturbance in infancy and early childhood and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnoses were investigated. Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a population‐based prospective longitudinal birth‐cohort study of children born in 1991–1992 in South‐West England, were employed. Eight thousand, one hundred and ninety‐five children were assessed using the Development and Well‐Being Assessment. One hundred and seventy‐three cases (2.1%) met criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Parental report at eight time points showed children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder slept less than peers. Absolute differences were small and mainly restricted to night‐time sleep, with no strong evidence of differences from controls, except at 69 months [5 years 9 months; 12 min (95% CI: 5–19), P = 0.001], at 81 months [6 years 9 months; 15 min (95% CI: 8–22), P