Sleep habits and sleep disturbances in Dutch children: a population-based study

Abstract

Sleep disorders can lead to significant morbidity. Information on sleep in healthy children is necessary to evaluate sleep disorders in clinical practice, but data from different societies cannot be simply generalized. The aims of this study were to (1) assess the prevalence of sleep disturbances in Dutch healthy children, (2) describe sleep habits and problems in this population, (3) collect Dutch norm data for future reference, and (4) compare sleep in children from different cultural backgrounds. A population-based descriptive study was conducted using the Children’s sleep habits questionnaire and the sleep self-report. One thousand five hundred seven proxy-reports and 262 self-reports were analyzed. Mean age was 8.5 years (95% confidence interval, 8.4–8.6), 52% were boys. Sleep problems in Dutch children were present in 25%, i.e., comparable to other populations. Sleep habits were age-related. Problem sleepers scored significantly higher on all scales. Correlations between parental and self-assessments were low to moderate. Dutch children had significantly more sleep disturbances than children from the USA and less than Chinese children. Cognitions and attitudes towards what is considered normal sleep seem to affect the appraisal of sleep, this probably accounts partly for cultural differences. For a better understanding of cultural influences on sleep, more information on these determinants and the establishment of cultural norms are mandatory.

High prevalence of parent‐reported sleep problems in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after induction therapy

“…The Dutch Children Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), Adolescent Sleep Habits Questionnaire (ASHQ), and the Sleep Self‐Report (SSR) were used to assess child sleep . Scores of healthy Dutch children are available . Only (sub)scales with an acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ≥0.60) in both the study population and in healthy children are reported here.…”

“…Recall period was the last week for all child sleep questionnaires and higher scores were indicative of more sleep problems. Missing items were imputed as item means of the population if less than half of the items on a scale were missing …”

“…The 33‐item CSHQ was used to assess parent‐reported sleep in patients aged 2‐12 years . A 33‐item total score as well as subscale scores were calculated.…”

“…Patient scores were compared to age appropriate scores of healthy children. Original databases of previously collected scores of healthy children were used for analyses . Independent samples T ‐tests or Mann‐Whitney U tests were used for comparison with healthy children.…”

Insomnia, parasomnia, and predisposing factors in Turkish school children

“…Sharing rates are low in Western countries . A total of 27% shared a room in the USA, 14.6% in China, 17% in Spain, and 31.4% in Belgium, while prevalence of bed sharing in the USA, China and Belgium were 11%, 23% and 3.6%, respectively. Li et al .…”