Childhood Sleep Problems Associated With Psychotic, Personality Disorder Symptoms, Study Suggests

Young children who have irregular sleep routines and frequently wake up at night may be more likely to have psychotic symptoms in early adolescence, according to areport inJAMA Psychiatry. The report also noted that children who go to bed late and sleep for shorter periods at night may be at higher risk of developing borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms during early adolescence.“Adequate sleep in childhood is essential for optimal cognitive and emotional functioning,” wrote Isabel Morales-Muñoz, Ph.D., of the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, and colleagues. “[E]arly behavioral sleep problems may be modifiable risk factors associated with future psychopathol ogic symptoms.”Morales-Mu ñoz and colleagues assessed data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a large U.K. study that enrolled over 14,000 pregnant women from Avon between 1991 and 1992 and has been monitoring them and their children to examine how biology and environment influence health and disease as the children grow. As part of ALSPAC, parents reported on their children’s sleep behaviors at the ages of 6, 18, and 30 months and 3.5, 4.8, and 5.8 years. When the children in the study reached age 10, the researchers assessed their depressive symptoms; between age 11 and 12, the yout h were asked about BPD symptoms; and between age 12 and 13, they were asked about psychotic symptoms.Of the 6,333 youth who were evaluated for BPD, 472 reported BPD symptoms. Of t...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: ALSPAC Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children borderline personality disorder depression Isabel Morales-Mu ñoz JAMA Psychiatry psychosis sleep Source Type: research