title: Disturbed sleep: effects of sociocultural factors and illness.
abstract: To assess the prevalence of sleep disturbance and associated risk factors, sleep patterns were analysed in 14,372 English and Scottish children. Approximately 4% of children aged 5 experienced disturbed sleep more than once a week, but this decreased to 1% from age 9. Less than 25% of the parents with an affected child consulted a doctor. Sleep disturbance was associated with persistent wheezing compared to non-wheezing children (odds ratio 4.42; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.17 to 6.13), and more frequent in children of Indian subcontinent descent than in white children (odds ratio 2.20; 95% CI 1.34 to 3.60), and in children whose mother reached no more than primary education compared with those with higher education (odds ratio 2.41; 95% CI 1.51 to 3.84). Sociocultural factors associated with ethnicity and respiratory illness are important risk factors for sleeping disorders in childhood.
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Health Sciences, UMDS, St Thomas' Hospital, London.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Rona
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Gulliford
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chinn
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D004775:Enuresis / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D012307:Risk Factors; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology*; D012924:Social Conditions