Infants with colic have a normal sleep structure at 2 and 7 months of age.
OBJECTIVE
To compare nighttime sleep structure between infants with colic and a control group.


METHODS
Sleep and cry times of 15 infants with colic and 16 infants in a control group were recorded with the use of a daily diary at the ages of 5 weeks and 6 months. The diary was kept at home for a 1-week period. Overnight polygraphic sleep recordings in a sleep laboratory were performed when the infants were 2 months of age and were repeated for 11 infants with colic and 14 infants in a control group at 7 months of age.


RESULTS
Daily sleep time was shorter in infants with colic compared with the control group at 5 weeks of age (P =.001). Polygraphic data showed a similar sleep structure between the study groups at 2 and 7 months of age. Infants with colic had somewhat more obstructive apneas during rapid eye movement sleep at the age of 2 months (P =.04), and they had fewer awakenings at the age of 7 months than the control group (P =.003).


CONCLUSIONS
Infants with colic had normal sleep polygraphic finding at 2 and 7 months of age including sleep structure, movements, and breathing. Despite the shorter reported daily sleep times, the polygraphic data did not suggest infantile colic to be associated with a sleep disorder.
Kirjavainen
J
J
Department of Pediatric Neurology and Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
Kirjavainen
T
T
Huhtala
V
V
Lehtonen
L
L
Korvenranta
H
H
Kero
P
P
D003085:Colic / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003448:Crying / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D017286:Polysomnography; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012894:Sleep Stages; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications