Insomnia, health-related quality of life and health outcomes in children: A seven year longitudinal cohort

Daniel Combs, James L. Goodwin, Stuart F Quan, Wayne J. Morgan, Safal Shetty, Sairam Parthasarathy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

52 Scopus citations

Abstract

Insomnia is common in children, and is associated with decreased school performance and increased psychopathology. Although adult insomnia is linked to worsened health-related quality of life (HRQOL), there is insufficient data evaluating insomnia and HRQOL in children. We examined the HRQOL and health associations of insomnia in a longitudinal cohort of 194 children (96 girls, age at study start 8.7 ± 1.6 years, age at data analysis 15.0 ± 1.8 years) over 7 years. International Classification of Sleep Disorders, second edition (ICSD2) derived insomnia was seen intermittently in 27% of children, and was persistent in 4%. Children reporting ICSD2-derived insomnia had lower HRQOL. Additionally, the presence of insomnia was associated with an increased risk of reporting a new medical condition (intermittent insomnia odds ratio 5.9 [95% CI 1.3-26.7, p = 0.04], persistent insomnia odds ratio 8 [95% CI 2.3-27.7, p = 0.001]). Persistent ICSD2-derived insomnia was associated with an increased risk of reporting a new medication (odds ratio 4.9 (95% CI 1.0-23.6), p = 0.049), and reporting a new psychiatric medication (odds ratio 13.7, 95% CI: 2.6-73.5, p = 0.002). These associations were present even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors and the presence of obstructive sleep apnea. Insomnia in children is associated with worsened HRQOL and health outcomes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number27921
JournalScientific reports
Volume6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 13 2016

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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