Sleep Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Diagnosis, Epidemiology, and Management. 2020

Samuele Cortese, and Fang Wang, and Marco Angriman, and Gabriele Masi, and Oliviero Bruni
Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. samuele.cortese@soton.ac.uk.

Sleep problems are a common complaint in children/adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Correctly diagnosing and treating sleep problems in individuals with ASD is key, as they can add to the psychosocial burden of the disorder and exacerbate associated symptoms, such as inattention or irritability. Here, we provide an overview of the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of sleep problems/disorders in children and adolescents with ASD. This narrative review is mainly informed by a systematic search in PubMed and PsycInfo (last search: 10 October 2019) of available pertinent meta-analyses. We also searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published after the search date of available meta-analyses. As for the epidemiology of sleep disorders in ASD, recent meta-analytic evidence shows a pooled prevalence of 13% (95% confidence interval [CI] 9-17) in the ASD population, compared with 3.7% in the general population. In terms of diagnosis of sleep disorders, it should be based on standardized criteria [e.g., the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) or third edition of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD)]; clinicians should bear in mind that the communication difficulties presented by individuals with ASD may make the diagnostic process more challenging. Regarding the treatment, a meta-analysis of behavioral interventions, including only three RCTs, found significant effects in terms of increase in total sleep time (24.41 min, 95% CI 5.71-43.11, P = 0.01), decrease in sleep-onset latency (- 18.31 min, 95% CI - 30.84 to - 5.77, P = 0.004), and a significant effect on sleep efficiency (5.59, 95% CI 0.87-10.31, P = 0.02), albeit the risk of bias of the included studies was rated "high" in relation to issues with the blinding. The bulk of the evidence for the pharmacological treatment is for melatonin, with a meta-analysis of five double-blind RCTs showing a large effect size, favoring melatonin, in sleep duration (44 min compared with placebo, Hedge's g 1.07 [95% CI 0.49-1.65]) and sleep-onset latency (39 min compared with placebo, Hedge's g - 2.46 [95% CI - 1.96 to - 2.98]). We conclude that additional RCTs are desperately needed to support the management of sleep disorders in ASD with an evidence-based, precision medicine approach.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D004311 Double-Blind Method A method of studying a drug or procedure in which both the subjects and investigators are kept unaware of who is actually getting which specific treatment. Double-Masked Study,Double-Blind Study,Double-Masked Method,Double Blind Method,Double Blind Study,Double Masked Method,Double Masked Study,Double-Blind Methods,Double-Blind Studies,Double-Masked Methods,Double-Masked Studies,Method, Double-Blind,Method, Double-Masked,Methods, Double-Blind,Methods, Double-Masked,Studies, Double-Blind,Studies, Double-Masked,Study, Double-Blind,Study, Double-Masked
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000067877 Autism Spectrum Disorder Wide continuum of associated cognitive and neurobehavioral disorders, including, but not limited to, three core-defining features: impairments in socialization, impairments in verbal and nonverbal communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviors. (from DSM-V) Autistic Spectrum Disorder,Autism Spectrum Disorders,Autistic Spectrum Disorders,Disorder, Autistic Spectrum
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D012893 Sleep Wake Disorders Abnormal sleep-wake schedule or pattern associated with the CIRCADIAN RHYTHM which affect the length, timing, and/or rigidity of the sleep-wake cycle relative to the day-night cycle. Sleep Disorders,Long Sleeper Syndrome,Short Sleep Phenotype,Short Sleeper Syndrome,Sleep-Related Neurogenic Tachypnea,Subwakefullness Syndrome,Disorder, Sleep,Disorder, Sleep Wake,Disorders, Sleep,Disorders, Sleep Wake,Long Sleeper Syndromes,Neurogenic Tachypnea, Sleep-Related,Neurogenic Tachypneas, Sleep-Related,Phenotype, Short Sleep,Phenotypes, Short Sleep,Short Sleep Phenotypes,Short Sleeper Syndromes,Sleep Disorder,Sleep Phenotypes, Short,Sleep Related Neurogenic Tachypnea,Sleep Wake Disorder,Sleep-Related Neurogenic Tachypneas,Sleeper Syndrome, Long,Sleeper Syndrome, Short,Sleeper Syndromes, Long,Sleeper Syndromes, Short,Subwakefullness Syndromes,Syndrome, Long Sleeper,Syndrome, Short Sleeper,Syndrome, Subwakefullness,Syndromes, Long Sleeper,Syndromes, Short Sleeper,Syndromes, Subwakefullness,Tachypnea, Sleep-Related Neurogenic,Tachypneas, Sleep-Related Neurogenic,Wake Disorder, Sleep,Wake Disorders, Sleep

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