Infant colic, young children’s temperament and sleep in a population based longitudinal cohort study

Abstract

Background Colic and sleep problems are common among infants, constitute challenges and distress for parents, and are often reasons for seeking help from health professionals. The literature debates whether infant colic and sleep problems are linked together or not. Further, limited evidence exists on how colic impacts on child temperament and sleep during early childhood. Thus, the purpose of this study was to increase our knowledge of the characteristics of infants with a history of colic compared to infants without, and to study how infant colic is associated with the development of child temperament and sleep over time. Methods The study is based on The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), a population-based cohort study conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. This sample contains 88,186 mothers and children. Data was retrieved from questionnaires distributed to mothers at recruitment (in pregnancy) and when the child was 6 months, 18 months, 3 years, and 5 years. Data was analysed using linear mixed models and GLM models for repeated measures. Results At 6 months, infants with reported colic are described as fussier, present more sleeping problems, are breastfed less, and the families visit the child health centre more often when compared to the non-colic group. Mothers of children with reported colic perceive their children’s temperament significantly more challenging from the age of 6 months to 5 years. Further, children with reported colic were more likely to sleep less than recommended (22%) and to have more frequent night awakenings (14%) than usual for their age (6 months to 5 years). Conclusion Infant colic often occurs together with other signs of regulatory problems which may amplify the load on the parents. Moderate differences in temperament and sleep-problems across time, between those with colic and those without, indicate that the diagnosis of colic is moderately associated with later behavioural difficulties. However, it is demanding for the parents, and important to be aware of and act upon symptoms of colic in the child health centres to reduce the parents’ load and prevent adverse long-term outcomes.

Féléves csecsemők temperamentumának mérése a Csecsemőviselkedés Kérdőív 15 tételével: pszichometriai elemzés és korrelátumok

“…Az élet első évében a szülői gondoskodás megélését jelentősen befolyásoló, a gyermek és a szülő egymáshoz való sikeres illeszkedését alakító tényező a gyermek állapotszabályozási, regulációs kapacitása. A korai reguláció alatt az alapvető élettani szabályozási folyamatokat értjük, amelyekből kiemelkedik az alvás-ébrenlét és az arousalszabályozás (Hámori, 2020). Az elmúlt évtizedek kutatási eredményei arra mutatnak, hogy a csecsemőkori temperamentum összefüggést mutathat az alvásproblémákkal és az arousalszabályozás zavaraival, amely leginkább a sírás-megnyugtatás nehézségeiben jelenik meg (Burdayron, Butler, Béliveau, Dubois-Comtois, & Pennestri, 2021;Martini és mtsai, 2017), amelyek befolyásolhatják a szülői nevelés és viszonyulás módjait.…”

The Relationship Between Maternal Migraine and Infantile Colic: A Case-Control Study

“…The long-term consequences of infantile colic include behavioral issues, sleep disturbances, and episodes of wheezing. Studies have linked colic to hyperactivity, a decrease in IQ at preschool age, and the development of asthma or atopic conditions in childhood (9)(10)(11)(12). Several etiological factors have been investigated, ranging from parental mental health to intestinal disturbances, lactase deficiency, and reflux (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22).…”