Maternal insomnia and depressive symptoms and early childhood sleep among Arab and Jewish families in Israel. Sleep medicine OBJECTIVES:The present study explored the links between maternal insomnia symptoms, maternal depressive symptoms, and young children's sleep quality among two major cultural groups in Israel: Arab and Jewish. We also assessed the prevalence of maternal insomnia and depressive symptoms, in both cultural groups. METHODS:Mothers of 497 healthy, typically developing infants and toddlers, ranging in age from 3-36 months, participated in the study: 253 of the mothers were Arab and 244 were Jewish. Mothers completed the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire. RESULTS:For both cultural groups, there were significant positive associations between maternal ISI and EPDS, as well as between maternal ISI and child sleep variables (nighttime wakefulness and perceived child's sleep problems), after controlling for child age. Significant correlations were also found between maternal EPDS and child sleep, after controlling for child age, but these correlations were not significant once controlling for ISI. Cross-cultural differences in prevalence of insomnia and depressive symptoms were found based on the clinical cutoffs of the ISI and EPDS: Arab mothers, compared to Jewish mothers, reported higher levels of insomnia and depressive symptoms, and were more likely to have scores higher than the clinical cutoff on both measures. CONCLUSION:Maternal insomnia, depressive symptoms, and child sleep quality are significantly intertwined in both Arab and Jewish families in Israel. The findings highlight the importance of taking these three domains into consideration in research and in clinical assessments of families with young children. 10.1016/j.sleep.2022.08.015

Early Sleep Differences in Young Infants with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP OBJECTIVE:Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience greater sleep challenges than their neurotypical peers, but sleep patterns for infants later diagnosed with ASD are unknown. This study examined differences in total sleep duration and proportion of sleep experienced at night within the first 6 months of life among infants later diagnosed with ASD, infants who demonstrated subclinical characteristics of ASD and were classified as exhibiting the broad autism phenotype (BAP), and their typically developing (TD) peers. In addition, associations between infant sleep variables and developmental outcomes at 24 months were explored. METHODS:Participants included 79 infants enrolled in a prospective, longitudinal study of the early development of ASD. Between ages 1 week and 6 months, participants completed a monthly retrospective 24-hour sleep log. At 24 months, participants received a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 and Mullen Scales of Early Learning and Vineland-II and were clinically characterized as ASD, BAP, or TD. RESULTS:When accounting for the influence of age, infants later diagnosed with ASD slept less within the 24-hour period than infants in TD or BAP groups from 0 to 6 months ( p = 0.04). Percentage of sleep experienced during nighttime hours did not significantly differ between groups from 0 to 6 months ( p = 0.25). Greater nighttime sleep percentage at 6 months predicted higher receptive language ( p < 0.001) and fine motor scores ( p < 0.0001) at 24 months. Total sleep duration at 6 months did not predict any developmental outcomes at 24 months. CONCLUSION:Findings suggest that differences in sleep may occur among autistic individuals earlier in life than previously documented and have cascading effects on development. 10.1097/DBP.0000000000001207

Longitudinal associations between sleep and weight status in infants and toddlers. Pediatric obesity BACKGROUND:The limited research assessing relationships between sleep duration and weight status in infants and toddlers relies primarily on parent-reported sleep and cross-sectional studies. OBJECTIVES:Examine whether average sleep duration and changes in sleep duration among 6-24-month-old children were associated with weight-for-length z-scores, and whether these associations varied by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and sex. METHODS:Data were collected when children were approximately 6, 12, 18 and 24 months old (N = 116). Sleep duration was measured using actigraphy. Weight-for-length z-scores were calculated using children's height and weight. Physical activity was assessed using accelerometry. Diet was assessed using a feeding frequency questionnaire. Demographic characteristics included sex, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Separate associations of between- and within-person changes in sleep duration were estimated with weight-for-length z-score treated as the outcome variable in linear mixed model analyses. Additional models were assessed that included interactions between sleep and demographic characteristics. RESULTS:At time points where children slept longer at night compared to their own average, their weight-for-length z-score was lower. This relationship was attenuated by physical activity levels. CONCLUSIONS:Increasing sleep duration can improve weight status outcomes in very young children who have low physical activity levels. 10.1111/ijpo.13056