Anxiety, Insomnia, and Napping Predict Poorer Sleep Quality in an Autistic Adult Population.

Emma C Sullivan,Dagmara Dimitriou,Jason G Ellis,Elizabeth J Halstead

doi:10.3390/ijerph18189883

Abstract

Autistic adults have a high prevalence of sleep problems and psychiatric conditions. In the general population sleep problems have been associated with a range of demographic and lifestyle factors. Whether the same factors contribute to different types of disturbed sleep experienced by autistic adults is unknown and served as the main aim of this study. An online survey was conducted with 493 autistic adults. Demographic information (e.g., age, gender), about lifestyle (e.g., napping), and information about comorbid conditions was collected. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess sleep quality and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was used to assess daytime somnolence. Stepwise multiple regression analyses were used to examine predictors of each subscale score on the PSQI, as well as PSQI and ESS total scores. Results indicated that individuals who reported having a diagnosis of anxiety and insomnia were more likely to have poorer sleep quality outcomes overall. Furthermore, individuals who reported habitually napping had higher daytime dysfunction, increased sleep disturbances, and increased daytime sleepiness. These results provide novel insights into the demographic and lifestyle factors that influence sleep quality and daytime somnolence in autistic adults and can be used for targeted sleep interventions.

Highlights

Being younger and reporting less symptoms of depression was associated with higher leisure satisfaction in autistic adults. These findings suggest that factors such as physical exercise may not provide the same benefits as shown in the general population, with ageing and higher levels of depression contributing to this lack of satisfaction
Higher socioeconomic status (SES) scores were associated with a higher sleep latency score, a higher sleep disturbance score, a higher daytime dysfunction score, and a higher overall sleep quality score
This study provides novel insight into what factors predict different facets of sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in an autistic adult population

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. In comparison to the general population, autistic adults have been found to have a higher prevalence of sleep problems, including longer sleep latencies, a higher number, and duration, of night waking occurrences, shorter night sleep durations, disrupted circadian rhythms, and greater levels of daytime sleepiness [1,2,3] They are at a higher risk of developing psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, compared to the general population [4,5]. Whether any of these factors map onto the same socio-demographic, economic, and lifestyle factors implicated in the general population remains unknown

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