Cognitive dysfunction in children with sleep disorders

• Published in: Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria 2004-06, Vol.62 (2A), p.212-216
• Main Authors: Carvalho, Luciane Bizari Coin de, Prado, Lucila Bizari Fernandes do, Silva, Luciana, Almeida, Marilaine Medeiros de, Silva, Tatiana Almeida e, Vieira, Célia Maria Alcântara Machado, Atallah, Alvaro Nagib, Prado, Gilmar Fernandes do
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age Distribution; Bender-Gestalt Test; Brazil - epidemiology; Case-Control Studies; Chi-Square Distribution; Child; Cognition Disorders - epidemiology; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Female; Humans; Male; NEUROSCIENCES; Prevalence; PSYCHIATRY; Sex Distribution; Sleep Wake Disorders - complications; Sleep Wake Disorders - epidemiology; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0004-282X; 1678-4227; 0004-282X
• DOI: 10.1590/s0004-282x2004000200004

Sleep is basic for physical and cognitive development and some studies have suggested that there may be an association between sleep disorders (SD) and cognitive dysfunction (CD) in children. Little is known, however, about SD and cognition in 7-10-year-old children, a fact that motivated the present study. We applied an SD questionnaire in 1180 children, 547 with SD and 633 without SD (CG), to assess cognition with a screening test (Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test - BT). We observed a similar frequency of CD in the children with SD (39%) and that ot the CG (40%). The 8-year-old children with SD presented a lower prevalence of CD than the CG (SD=6%, n=6; CG=13%, n=16; p=0.04). The frequency of children with CD was equal in the study and control groups when considering the total sample (7- to 10-year-old children). In contrast to our expectations, the SD group of 8-year-old children presented a lower frequency of CD than the control group.