Sleep Problems Under-Reported by Parents in Iranian Children

Sleep problems are common in childhood, but there are limited studies regarding that in Iranian children and awareness of the sleep problems and their complication in Iranian parents. We arranged this study in which parents of children attending for a sick visit or routine growth control to assess whether sleep problems are under-reported at general pediatric visits. In a cross - a sectional study from April 2010 to April 2011 in 301 children aged 2-14 years old attending to pediatric clinics were enrolled. To investigate the general orientation of parents about their child sleep problem we asked them a global question at first regarding sleep of their child. After that, the Persian version of BEARS questionnaire was completed by them. Only 30 (9.9%) parents reported sleep problems in their children in response to primary global question but by collecting the data from BEARS questionnaire it was revealed 45.18% (136/301) of children had one or more of sleep disorders at all. As mentioned 136 (45.18%) children had slept problems of which the most frequent complaint (15.28%) was related to bedtime problems. The second complaint (11.96%) was awakening during the night children. A significant association between sleep problems and child gender was not found. Co-sleeping with parents was found in 55.48% of all children in this study. Despite the high prevalence and adverse effects of sleep disorders, the present study suggests that parents underreport sleep problems at consultation. We suggest children should be assessed for sleep disorders in monitoring and health screening visits.