Parents of children referred to a sleep laboratory for disordered breathing reported anxiety, daytime sleepiness and poor sleep quality

Abstract

Aim: We evaluated the impact that having a child with sleep-disordered breathing had on their parents, including their own sleep quality.

Methods: Questionnaires were completed by 96 parents of 86 children referred for a sleep study or control of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or noninvasive ventilation (NIV) at the sleep laboratory of the Necker Hospital, Paris, France, between October 2015 and January 2016. The questionnaires evaluated anxiety and depression, family functioning, the parents' quality of life, daytime sleepiness and sleep quality.

Results: The children had a mean age of seven ±five years and most of the responses (79%) came from their mothers. These showed that 26% of parents showed moderate-to-severe anxiety, 8% moderate-to-severe depression, 6% complex family cohesion, 59% moderate-to-severe daytime sleepiness and 54% poor sleep quality. Anxiety was higher in mothers than in fathers (p < 0.001). The questionnaire scores did not differ according to the child's age, the results of the sleep studies or the CPAP or NIV treatment. The symptoms seem to be more commonly related to the child's underlying disease than their sleep-disordered breathing.

Conclusion: The parents of children referred to a sleep laboratory reported frequent anxiety, daytime sleepiness and poor sleep quality.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Parents; Quality of life; Sleep-disordered breathing.