Elsevier

Sleep Medicine

Volume 15, Issue 1, January 2014, Pages 91-95
Sleep Medicine

Original Article
Prevalence of insomnia symptoms in a general population sample of young children and preadolescents: gender effects

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2013.08.787Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Insomnia symptoms in young and preadolescent children are prevalent.

  • Prevalence of insomnia symptoms peaks in girls ages 11 to 12 years and is associated with objective sleep disturbance.

  • Peak in insomnia symptoms in girls ages 11 to 12 years is not explained by anxiety and depressive symptoms or sleep-disordered breathing (SDB).

  • Hormonal changes associated with puberty may help explain the increased prevalence.

Abstract

Objective

Our population-based study examined the prevalence of insomnia symptoms and its sociodemographic, subjective, and polysomnographic (PSG) sleep risk factors in young and preadolescent children.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional study of 700 children, ages 5–12 years who underwent a 9-h PSG and parent-completed sleep and development questionnaires (Penn State Child Cohort). Insomnia symptoms were defined as parent report of difficulty falling or staying asleep and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) as an apnea hypopnea index of ⩾1.

Results

The prevalence of insomnia symptoms was 19.3% and did not significantly change (20.2%) when children with SDB were excluded. A significant interaction between gender and age revealed that the prevalence of insomnia symptoms was highest in girls ages 11 to 12 years (30.6%). This gender difference was not associated with significant differences between girls and boys ages 11–12 years in anxiety and depressive symptoms. In contrast girls ages 11–12 years with insomnia symptoms, but not boys of the same group, demonstrated clinically significant PSG sleep disturbances compared to those without insomnia symptoms.

Conclusions

These data suggest that one out of five young children and preadolescents of the general population have insomnia symptoms. Importantly, the prevalence of insomnia symptoms peaks in girls ages 11 to 12 years and is associated with objective sleep disturbances which may be related to hormonal changes associated with the onset of puberty rather than anxiety and depression.

Keywords

Preadolescent children
Epidemiology
Insomnia
Sociodemographics
Puberty
Gender

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