Polysomnographic sleep characteristics of generally-anxious and healthy children assessed in the home environment

Background Using laboratory-based polysomnography (PSG) we recently provided evidence of significantly prolonged sleep onset latency (SOL) and reduced latency to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep among non-depressed children with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) compared to healthy age-matched controls. In the current study we conducted unattended ambulatory PSG in a new sample of children with GAD and controls in order to examine sleeping characteristics in the home environment. Method Thirty-two children (ages of 7-11 years) including 16 children with primary GAD and 16 controls receiving no psychotropic medications were studied. The anxious group had a primary diagnosis of GAD without secondary mood disorders and controls were free of any medical or psychiatric diagnoses. All participants underwent structured diagnostic assessments and completed one night of home-based polysomnography (PSG). Results Children with GAD exhibited significantly higher sleep efficiency (SE) and fewer rapid eye movement (REM) sleep periods compared to controls. Self-reported somatic arousal during the pre-sleep period was negatively correlated with the percentage of total REM sleep among controls, but positively correlated with REM sleep percentage in the GAD group. Limitations A small sample size and one night of PSG only. Conclusions Home-based PSG recording do not provide evidence of disrupted sleep patterns in children with GAD. Contextual factors that better elucidate differences between laboratory and home-based sleep findings are suggested as important directions for future research.