[The relationship between headache and sleep disorders: findings from an epidemiological study in a population of Spanish school-age children]. / Relación entre cefalea y trastornos del sueño: resultados de un estudio epidemiológico en población escolar.

INTRODUCTION: Headache and sleep disorders have a high impact in children, both from the point of view of prevalence and from the perspective of the quality of life of the subjects who suffer their consequences. AIM. To determine the prevalence of sleep disorders among the child population that suffers from headaches. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The Spanish version of the Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of the child and teenage population that attend the different schools in the town of Gandia. This questionnaire includes two questions about the existence of headache. RESULTS: In all, 887 subjects answered the survey (68% of respondents). The sleep disorders that are clearly associated with headache are: rhythmic movement disorders, sleep-talking, nightmares, waking up more than twice during the night, unwillingness to go to bed, early waking, delayed onset of sleep, insomnia, irregular hours of going to bed and getting up, excessive daytime sleepiness, snoring and positive screening for apnea-hypopnea syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: It is shown that the population with headaches has a greater number of sleep disorders, mainly insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness and parasomnias. It is important to gather information about sleep habits in any child who is attended because of headache.

[Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and sleep disturbances. Results of an epidemiological study in schoolchildren in Gandia, Spain]. / Relación entre el trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad y los trastornos del sueño. Resultados de un estudio epidemiológico en la población escolar de la ciudad de Gandía.

INTRODUCTION: The evaluation of comorbidity is an important factor in the treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Sleep disturbances are one of the most common features of this disorder. OBJECTIVE: To find out the frequency of sleep disturbances among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We used the Spanish version of the Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire, which was given out to a representative sample in Gandia (Spain). RESULTS: The questionnaire was answered by 887 (68 % of the sample). The sleep disturbances that showed a clear relationship with the three ADHD variables studied are: snoring, enuresis, rhythmic movement disturbances, night awakenings, and bedtime resistance. Sleep-disorder breathing, bruxism, somniloquy, day sleepiness, early awakenings and difficulty falling sleep are associated with only one of the three variables studied. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that the population with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder has more sleep disturbances. The association with the enuresis is of particular interest due to the possible clinical implications.

[Sleep patterns and sleep disturbances among schoolchildren in the town of Gandia]. / Patrones normales y trastornos del sueño entre la población escolar de la ciudad de Gandía.

INTRODUCTION: Knowledge of sleep patterns and sleep disturbances among healthy children is interesting, particularly, amongst other things, for carrying out comparative studies with children with certain diseases. The objective of the present study was to study sleep patterns and the prevalence of sleep disturbances among schoolchildren. METHODS: We used the Spanish version of the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire, which was given out to a representative sample of Gandia Town. RESULTS: The prevalence of sleep disturbances were as follows: insomnia 10.5 %, daytime sleepiness 13 %, a positive score for sleep-disorder breathing 5.7 %, snoring 5.7 %, enuresis 5.3 %, sleepwalking 12.5 %, night terrors 18.4 %, nightmares 12.8 %. As regards sleep patterns, the average time for getting up was 7:45 am, the average time for going to bed was 22:13 pm, and the average sleep duration was 9 hours and 30 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: Comparison among different populations studies is difficult due to the use of different instruments to measure the same variables. Our results are similar to other studies, with the exception of sleep-disorder breathing and snoring, where the prevalences are lower in our study. The sleep patterns also did not show any differences between other published studies.