Sleep patterns and problems among egyptian children with ADHD: The impact of symptoms severity and subtypes

Abstract

Sleep problems are common among children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present study was conducted to describe sleep patterns and problems in a sample of Egyptian children with ADHD and to examine the impact of symptoms severity and subtypes on their sleep. The parents of 100 ADHD children, aged 6–12 years, filled out the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) and Conners’ Parent Rating Scale-Revised: long version (CPRS-R:L) in Arabic. The parents of 100 normal control children filled out the CSHQ. The ADHD group had significantly higher scores on bedtime resistance, sleep duration, sleep anxiety, parasomnias, daytime sleepiness and global sleep disturbance (CSHQ total score) than in the control group. There were significant positive correlations between oppositional, hyperactivity, cognitive problems/inattention, and ADHD index subscales raw score and CSHQ scale scores. Children with Combined subtype had significantly higher scores than controls in bedtime resistance (p < 0.001), sleep anxiety (p < 0.001), parasomnias (p = 0.001), daytime sleepiness (p = 0.014), and total score (p<0.001). There were no significant difference between ADHD subtypes in regard to CSHQ scale scores (p > 0.05). Sleep problems are common among this sample of children with ADHD. This study suggests that sleep disturbances are related to symptoms severity and ADHD subtype. We would like to thank the parents and the children for participation in this study. Also, we would like to thank Janssen-Cilag pharmaceutical company that paid the cost of the CPRS-R:L questionnaire.