Sleep problems common in children with early-life epilepsies
Parents commonly reported sleep concerns that persisted with age for children with early-life epilepsies, according to study results published in Pediatric Neurology.“Although sleep is cited as a prominent concern among parents of children with [early-life epilepsies], it remains understudied,” Gita Gupta, MD, MS, of the department of pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School, and colleagues wrote. “Characterization of sleep disorders in children with [early-life epilepsies] is required in order to systematically address underlying sleep pathology and to assess whether treatment of sleep pathology is a mechanism through which early-life epilepsy] outcomes could be optimized. Therefore, we aimed to assess the profile of sleep disorders in children with [early-life epilepsies] who were enrolled in the Rare Epilepsy Network.”
The investigators used online questionnaires to query participants of the Rate Epilepsy Network regarding the sleep of 356 children (56% girls; median age, 56 months). Parents reported sleep concerns among 53% of the children, with frequent nighttime awakenings (45%), difficulty falling asleep (38%) and very restless sleep (34%) representing the most common manifestations. Gupta and colleagues noted an association between nocturnal seizures, which occurred among 75% of children, and sleep concerns. A total of 43% of children without nocturnal seizures had sleep concerns. Children with Dup15 syndrome were most likely to have sleep concerns (84%). The researchers noted increased risk for having a sleep concern among children aged 4 to 10 years (adjusted OR = 16.1; 95% CI, 2-131) and 10 years to younger than 13 years (aOR = 22.2; 95% CI, 2.6-188.6) compared with those aged 6 months or younger. Girls appeared to have a lower risk for sleep concerns (aOR = 0.6; 95% CI, 0.4-0.9). After adjustment for sex and age category in a logistic regression model, the researchers found the association between sleep concerns and nocturnal seizures appeared weaker.“Treatment of sleep disorders may present an opportunity to optimize epilepsy outcomes with relatively low-risk interventions and improve the quality of life for children with [early-life epilepsies] and their families,” Gupta and colleagues wrote.SOURCE: Healio.com