Indices Of Sleep Disturbances Among Children With Autism In Oman: A Case Control Study

Abstract

BackgroundAmong developing countries, there is dearth of information related to sleep problems among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their sequel on parents health.ObjectiveTo explore indices of sleep disturbances among children with ASD compared to control groups, and the association between sleep disturbances and stress among parents.MethodsA population‐based case control study was conducted among 122 cases of children with ASD children (ASD group), and randomly‐selected two control groups: 81 children with intellectual disabilities other than ASD (ID group) and 90 typically developed children (TD group). Standardized and validated Arabic versions of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Children's Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ), and Parental Stress Scale (PSC) have been used to asses sleep behavior of children and parental stress.ResultsOverall, the mean score of CSHQ for ASD group was higher compared to ID group and TD group (51.3, 50.0, and 46.9; P‐value 0.002), which indicated that ASD children had less quality of sleep compared to control groups. Proportionately, more incidences of bed resistance, sleep onset delay, parasomnia, and day time sleepiness were reported among ASD group compared to control groups. The correlation was significant between parenting stress and ASD children poor quality of sleep (P‐value=0.001, r2=0.2). 
ConclusionsThe study provides a suggestive evidence that children with ASD in Oman are at higher risk of suffering from sleep disturbances and consequential parental stress compared to non‐ASD children.