Sleep Difficulties in Infancy Are Associated with Symptoms of Inattention and Hyperactivity at the Age of 5 Years: A Longitudinal Study

Hanna Huhdanpää, Isabel Morales-Muñoz, Eeva T Aronen, Pirjo Pölkki, Outi Saarenpää-Heikkilä, Tiina Paunio, Anneli Kylliäinen, E Juulia Paavonen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Sleep difficulties are associated with cognitive and behavioral problems in childhood. However, it is still unclear whether early sleep difficulties are related to later development. We studied whether parent-reported sleep duration, night awakenings, and parent-reported sleep problems in early childhood are associated with symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity at the age of 5 years.

METHOD: Our study is based on the Child-Sleep birth cohort initially comprising 1673 families, of which 713 were retained at the age of 5 years. We used the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire and the Infant Sleep Questionnaire, which were filled out by the parents when their child was 3, 8, and 24 months and 5 years old. Symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity at the age of 5 years were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Five-to-Fifteen questionnaire.

RESULTS: Sleep duration at the age of 3, 8, and 24 months was associated with inattentiveness at 5 years of age. Moreover, parent-reported sleep problems at the age of 24 months were related to both inattentive and hyperactive symptoms at the age of 5 years. Finally, at the age of 5 years, parent-reported sleep problems and night awakenings were associated with concurrent symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that certain sleep characteristics related to sleep quality and quantity in early childhood are associated with inattentiveness and hyperactivity at the age of 5 years. Interestingly, sleep duration in early childhood is consistently related to inattention at the age of 5 years.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)432-440
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics
Volume40
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/epidemiology
  • Child, Preschool
  • Comorbidity
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Sleep/physiology
  • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/epidemiology

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