0972 Persistence, Remission, Acquisition Of Sleep Disturbances Contributes To The Transition Of Emotional/behavioral Problems In Preschool Children

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have consistently reported associations between sleep disturbances and emotional/behavioral problems in children. However, few studies have examined whether the remission, acquisition of sleep disturbances contribute to the transition of emotional and behavioral problems during preschool years. Methods This study used data from the Shanghai Children’s Health, Education and Lifestyle Evaluation-Preschool (SCHEDULEA-P), a prospective, population-based cohort study of newly enrolled preschoolers in Shanghai kindergartens in Nov. 2016. In total, 17182 children with complete data on parent-reported Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) both at school enrollment(wave 1) and the third year(wave 2) were included in the study. Children’s sleep disturbances were measured using Children Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ) at both waves. Results The 17182 participants included 8935(52.0%) males, with a mean (SD) age of 3.73(0.29) years at wave 1. 66.9%, 7.2%, 17.4% and 8.5% of these children were divided into persistent sleep disturbance, acquired, remitted group and persistent normal sleep group, respectively. The proportion of persistent, acquired, remitted emotional/behavioral problems and normal group was 13.7%, 9.4%, 21.1%, 55.8%. SDQ scores of acquired sleep disturbances group stayed high at wave 3, while SDQ scores of remitted sleep disturbances group decreased sharply during the preschool years. After adjusted for confounding factors, the odds of remission from emotional/behavioral problems among children who experienced remission of sleep disturbances, who had persistent normal sleep were both much higher compared to those who had persistent sleep disturbances (OR=2.53(2.12-3.01), p<0.001; OR=2.74(2.01-3.75), p<0.001). Meanwhile, the odds of acquisition of emotional/behavioral problems at wave 2 among subjects who newly acquired sleep disturbances at wave 2 and who had persistent sleep disturbances was similarly higher than those who never have sleep disturbances(OR= 2.75, P<0.001 VS OR=2.77, P<0.001). Besides, those who experience remission of sleep disturbances still have 1.48 times the odds of acquisition of emotional / behavioral problems(P=0.006). Conclusion The remission of sleep disturbances contributed to the remission of emotional/behavioral problems, while the emergence of sleep disturbances throughout preschool years increased the risk of the acquisition of emotional/behavioral problems. Support Supported by the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation of China (81773443, 81728017, 81602870, 81601162, 81602868)