Exploring the Longitudinal Relationship Between Short Sleep Duration, Temperament and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in a Biethnic Population of Children Aged Between 6 and 61 Months: A Born in Bradford Study

Jonathan Stott*, Elizabeth Coleman, Anna Hamilton, Jane Blackwell, Helen L. Ball

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Objective: Examine the association between sleep duration, temperament and symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in a biethnic child-population from The Born in Bradford cohort. Method: Parent-report sleep duration categorized children as: early short, late short, consistently short or consistently normal sleepers between 6 and 36 months. Temperament was measured using the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire at 6 months. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire assessed symptoms of ADHD at 37, 54, and 61 months. Results: Normal sleepers before 18 months had significantly fewer ADHD symptoms at 37 months compared with consistently short sleepers. Fussiness at 6 months was significantly positively associated with ADHD symptoms at 37 and 54 months; but does not appear to mediate the relationship between sleep duration and ADHD symptoms. Conclusion: Awareness of the relationship between short sleep duration and fussiness in infancy and later ADHD symptomatology may support earlier identification of arising difficulties in children.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)929-938
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of attention disorders
Volume27
Issue number9
Early online date8 May 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The data reported in this paper was funded by the following sources: core infrastructure funding from the Wellcome Trust (grant number: WT101597MA), the NIHR under its Programme Grant for Applied Research (Development and evaluation of interventions for the prevention of childhood obesity in a multi-ethnic population: the Born in Bradford NHS Research Programme, RP-PG-0407-10044) and its Applied Research Collaboration for Yorkshire and Humber (formerly CLAHRC). This study received delivery support from the NIHR Clinical Research Network. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

Publisher Copyright:
© ©The Author(s) 2023.

Keywords

  • ADHD
  • Born in Bradford
  • ethnic group
  • parent-reported sleep duration
  • pediatrics

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