Abstract
Introduction
The etiology of restless sleep has recently been identified as secondary to various medical and sleep conditions. Parents of children with ADHD complain of restless sleep and sleep disturbances in their children. We aimed to assess restless sleep causes in our patient population with ADHD and establish the prevalence of restless sleep disorder (RSD), as recently defined.
Methods
A retrospective study of children with ADHD who underwent polysomnography was carried out. Diagnostic and descriptive information collected for each patient included age, sex, polysomnographic parameters, sleep disorders, psychiatric comorbidities, and medications.
Results
Sixty-six PSGs were reviewed. The mean age of children was 11.6 (±3.6 SD) years; 17 were female and 49 were male. Parents of 54 (81.1%) children had concerns of restlessness during sleep; 47 (71.2%) children had obstructive sleep apnea, 17 (25.8%) had PLMS ≥5/hour, 13 (19.7%) had RLS, 6 (9.1%) had RSD, 27 (41%) had depression or anxiety, 5 (7.6%) had insomnia.
Conclusion
In a pediatric sleep medicine referred group of patients with ADHD, who are known to have significant sleep and psychiatric comorbidities, obstructive sleep apnea, RLS, and RSD were found to be the most prevalent sleep disorders, whereas depression and anxiety were the most common psychiatric disorders. Complaint of secondary restless sleep seems to be common, while primary restless sleep disorder was seen in approximately 9% of children. The results of this study aid pediatricians and child psychiatrists in screening children with ADHD for associated sleep disorders.
Support (if any):
Sleep disorders in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
