Sleep assessment of children with cerebral palsy: Using validated sleep questionnaire

Abstract

Background:On the basis of clinical experience, it seems that sleep disturbances are common in children with cerebral palsy (CP); however, there is a lack of research and objective data to support this observation.Aim of Work:Our aim was to assess sleep of children with cerebral palsy, using validated sleep questionnaire.Subjects and Methods:one hundred children with diagnosis of CP were investigated via sleep questionnaires, with their ages from 2-12 years. The 100 children with CP were divided into two groups, pre-school group (52 children had a mean age 2.35 ± 1.04 years) and school ages group (48 children had a mean age 10.21 ± 3.75 years).Results:We found high incidence of sleep problem in both pre-school and school age groups. We found that pre-school children have more prevalence of early insomnia (46.2%, P value 0.028) and sleep bruxism (50%, P value 0.000), while school group suffer more sleep disordered breathing (SDB) (50%, P value 0.001), more nightmares (50%, P value 0.001), more sleep talking (12.5% P value 0.049), and more excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) (62.5%, P value 0.001).Conclusion:Results of our study indicate that CP children have high incidence of sleep problem in both pre-school and school age groups.

Factors associated with bruxism in children with developmental disabilities

“…13 The frequency of bruxism was similar to that reported in previous studies, 3,4,9,14 higher than rates found in Iran 13,15 and lower than rates found in studies involving individuals with cerebral palsy. 5,8,11 The divergence between the rate in the present investigation and those reported in studies involving individuals with cerebral palsy may be due to the small sample sizes in the studies cited. A systematic review of the literature reports that the prevalence rate of bruxism ranges from 5% to 40%, with higher rates found in Brazil in comparison to rates reported throughout the world.…”

“…11 Together with dental caries, bruxism has a negative impact on the quality of life of this group of individuals. 8 Knowledge regarding factors associated with bruxism among individuals with developmental disabilities can assist in broadening the understanding of this condition and the establishment of treatment options that are more suitable for this group of patients.…”

“…5 However, the methodology employed herein has been previously used for groups with cerebral palsy as well as for the general population. 3,4,6,8,9,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,24 Indeed, a diagnosis based on tooth wear should be interpreted with caution, as individuals who have recently acquired the habit are not likely to exhibit typical signs of tooth wear. The cross-sectional design is another limitation, as this type of study does not allow for the determination of cause and effect.…”

Oral Health Status among Girls with Developmental Disabilities: A Cluster Analysis

“…Clinically, this finding is important because it emphasizes the need for bruxism monitoring without implying other complex treatments [19,20].…”

A comment on sleep assessment of children with cerebral palsy: Using validated sleep questionnaire

“…[1] The authors must be lauded for their effort in dealing with sleep assessment with a sleep questionnaire. However, I feel that the study suffers methodologically in picking up and reporting on certain sleep related problems like for example in assessment of nightmares in young children.…”