title: Sleep disturbances in adolescents with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
abstract: We evaluated 32 nonmedicated male adolescents diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood, 35 male adolescents similarly diagnosed who were receiving methylphenidate (MPH), and 77 control boys. Both ADHD groups completed self-report questionnaires assessing sleep disturbances; weekday and holiday sleep duration; and symptoms of ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Parents and teachers rated the severity of the participants' ADHD. The control group completed self-report questionnaires assessing sleep disturbances. We found that nonmedicated participants and controls did not differ in the severity of sleep disturbance. In contrast, the medicated participants demonstrated a significantly greater severity of sleep disturbance compared with the nonmedicated participants and reported elevated levels of symptoms of ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Specific analyses showed that depressive symptoms contributed significantly to the degree of sleep disturbance when controlling for ADHD diagnosis and MPH treatment. These findings suggest that among adolescents with ADHD symptoms, the severity of symptoms of depression may contribute to the degree of sleep disturbance in addition to the effect of their primary disorder and MPH treatment.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Psychosomatic Department, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel. dstein@netvision.net.il
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pat-Horenczyk
authors.forename: Shulamit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blank
authors.forename: Yaron
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dagan
authors.forename: Yoram
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Barak
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Gumpel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008774:Methylphenidate