858-P: Assessing Sleep Characteristics in Young Children with Type 1 Diabetes

Abstract

Children and teens with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their parents report shorter sleep duration and greater sleep disturbances related to diabetes management. Yet, few studies have specifically examined sleep in young children with T1D nor used both objective and self-report measures. The purpose of this study was to explore sleep characteristics of very young children with T1D and the feasibility of actigraph use to measure sleep in this high-risk population. Four nights of child actigraphy data were collected at baseline for a subsample of 11 families with young children with T1D (age 2-5) participating in a diabetes-related behavioral intervention (M child age=4.7 years; M A1c=7.8; 100% continuous glucose monitor use; 27.3% insulin pump use; M parent age=39 years; 81.8% Caucasian). Additionally, parents completed a questionnaire on child sleep duration and disturbances related to blood glucose (BG) checks. Actigraphy data indicated that children slept for about 9.8 hours/night (SD=50.08 minutes) and experienced an average of 8 awakenings throughout the night. Parent report of child sleep duration was longer than measured by actigraphy, averaging 10.4 hours/night (SD=43.2 minutes). A majority of parents (81%) reported checking their child’s BG once per night. Only 27% of parents reported that their child’s sleep was disrupted by BG checks, though 91% reported their own sleep was disrupted. Our findings support the feasibility and acceptability of actigraph use to measure sleep in this population, as the devices were worn by all children for the allotted period and returned valid data. Average child sleep duration was in the lower range of suggested sleep length for young children (recommended 9-13 hours). Though most parents reported conducting nocturnal BG checks, actigraphy measures suggest minimal disruption for the child. Young children may not experience as much sleep disturbance as older children with T1D, reinforcing that the burden typically falls upon caregivers as has been described in the literature. Disclosure M. Sinisterra: None. S. Hamburger: None. C. Tully: None. N. Herrera: None. E. Hamburger: None. S.S. Jaser: None. R. Streisand: None. Funding National Institutes of Health (1DP3DK103998-01)