Prevalence, patterns, and persistence of sleep problems in the first 3 years of life.
OBJECTIVE
Examine the prevalence, patterns, and persistence of parent-reported sleep problems during the first 3 years of life.


METHODS
Three hundred fifty-nine mother/child pairs participated in a prospective birth cohort study. Sleep questionnaires were administered to mothers when children were 6, 12, 24, and 36 months old. Sleep variables included parent response to a nonspecific query about the presence/absence of a sleep problem and 8 specific sleep outcome domains: sleep onset latency, sleep maintenance, 24-hour sleep duration, daytime sleep/naps, sleep location, restlessness/vocalization, nightmares/night terrors, and snoring.


RESULTS
Prevalence of a parent-reported sleep problem was 10% at all assessment intervals. Night wakings and shorter sleep duration were associated with a parent-reported sleep problem during infancy and early toddlerhood (6-24 months), whereas nightmares and restless sleep emerged as associations with report of a sleep problem in later developmental periods (24-36 months). Prolonged sleep latency was associated with parent report of a sleep problem throughout the study period. In contrast, napping, sleep location, and snoring were not associated with parent-reported sleep problems. Twenty-one percent of children with sleep problems in infancy (compared with 6% of those without) had sleep problems in the third year of life.


CONCLUSIONS
Ten percent of children are reported to have a sleep problem at any given point during early childhood, and these problems persist in a significant minority of children throughout early development. Parent response to a single-item nonspecific sleep query may overlook relevant sleep behaviors and symptoms associated with clinical morbidity.
Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, USA. Kelly.Byars@cchmc.org
Kelly C
KC
Byars
Kimberly
K
Yolton
Joseph
J
Rausch
Bruce
B
Lanphear
Dean W
DW
Beebe
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*