Sleep Habits of Early School-Aged Children with Type 1 Diabetes and Their Parents: Family Characteristics and Diabetes Management

Abstract

ABSTRACT Study Objectives School-aged children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their parents are at risk for sleep disturbances, yet few studies have used objective measures to assess sleep characteristics in young children with T1D. Methods Forty children (ages 5–9) with T1D and their parents wore actigraph watches and completed sleep diaries for 7 nights. Parents also completed questionnaires about demographic information, diabetes distress, fear of hypoglycemia, and family routines. Children’s clinical data (HbA1c and blood glucose data) were extracted from the medical record. Results Most of the children and their parents obtained insufficient sleep. Based on actigraphy data, children slept an average of 7.9 hours/night and parents slept 6.7 hours/night, below the recommendations of 9–11 and 7–9 hours of sleep, respectively. Shorter child sleep latency was significantly associated with better glycemic levels, and parents’ sleep duration and efficiency were related to child’s glycemic levels. Parental fear of hypoglycemia and lack of family routines were associated with poorer sleep quality in parents and children, and with parental diabetes distress. Conclusions Sleep duration and quality is a modifiable target for potentially improving glycemic levels and parental distress in early school-aged children with T1D.