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Cross-Sectional Age Analysis of Sleep Problems in 2 to 17 Year Olds with ADHD Combined, ADHD Inattentive, or Autism

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Abstract

Sleep problems are common in autism and ADHD. No study has compared sleep problems by age in 2 to 17 year olds with autism versus ADHD-Combined versus ADHD-Inattentive type. Mothers rated 1415 youth with autism and 1041 with ADHD on 10 Pediatric Behavior Scale sleep items. Nighttime sleep problems were most severe in autism, followed by ADHD-Combined, and then ADHD-Inattentive. Difficulty falling asleep, restless during sleep, and waking during the night were the most common problems. Adolescents slept more at night than other age groups, and youth who slept more at night were sleepier during the day. Sleep problems declined with age, but correlations were small. In adolescence, 63% with autism, 53% with ADHD-Combined, and 57% with ADHD-Inattentive had difficulty falling asleep. Given that the majority of children in all age groups had one or more sleep problem, developmentally appropriate interventions are needed to address sleep difficulties and limit their adverse effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry H073, Penn State College of Medicine, 500 University Dr., Hershey, PA, 17033, USA

    Susan D. Mayes, Kristina Puzino, Craig DiGiovanni & Susan L. Calhoun

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  1. Susan D. Mayes
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  2. Kristina Puzino
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  3. Craig DiGiovanni
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  4. Susan L. Calhoun
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design, material preparation, data collection, and data analysis and interpretations. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Susan D. Mayes, and all authors commented on and revised all subsequent drafts of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Susan D. Mayes.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board, which waived informed consent because analyses were conducted retrospectively on existing clinical data.

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Mayes, S.D., Puzino, K., DiGiovanni, C. et al. Cross-Sectional Age Analysis of Sleep Problems in 2 to 17 Year Olds with ADHD Combined, ADHD Inattentive, or Autism. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 29, 239–248 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-021-09799-9

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