Cognitive dysfunction in children with sleep disorders.
Sleep is basic for physical and cognitive development and some studies have suggested that there may be an association between sleep disorders (SD) and cognitive dysfunction (CD) in children. Little is known, however, about SD and cognition in 7-10-year-old children, a fact that motivated the present study.


METHODS
We applied an SD questionnaire in 1180 children, 547 with SD and 633 without SD (CG), to assess cognition with a screening test (Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test - BT).


RESULTS
We observed a similar frequency of CD in the children with SD (39%) and that ot the CG (40%). The 8-year-old children with SD presented a lower prevalence of CD than the CG (SD=6%, n=6; CG=13%, n=16; p=0.04).


CONCLUSIONS
The frequency of children with CD was equal in the study and control groups when considering the total sample (7- to 10-year-old children). In contrast to our expectations, the SD group of 8-year-old children presented a lower frequency of CD than the control group.
Carvalho
Luciane Bizari Coin de
LB
Sleep Disorders Center, Departments of Neurology and Emergency Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo São Paulo SP, Brazil.
Prado
Lucila Bizari Fernandes do
LB
Silva
Luciana
L
Almeida
Marilaine Medeiros de
MM
Silva
Tatiana Almeida e
TA
Vieira
Célia Maria Alcântara Machado
CM
Atallah
Alvaro Nagib
AN
Prado
Gilmar Fernandes do
GF
D017677:Age Distribution; D001538:Bender-Gestalt Test; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires