Executive functioning and neurodevelopmental disorders in early childhood

Background: Executive functioning deficits are common in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. However, prior research mainly focused on clinical populations employing cross-sectional designs, impeding conclusions on temporal neurodevelopmental pathways. Here, we examined the prospective association of executive functioning with subsequent autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits. Methods: This study included young children from the Generation R Study, a general population birth cohort. The Brief Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version w

The bidirectional association between sleep problems and autism spectrum disorder

Background: Sleep difficulties are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The temporal nature of the association between sleep problems and ASD is unclear because longitudinal studies are lacking. Our aim is to clarify whether sleep problems precede and worsen autistic traits and ASD or occur as a consequence o

Genome-wide DNA methylation patterns associated with sleep and mental health in children: a population-based study

Background: DNA methylation (DNAm) has been implicated in the biology of sleep. Yet, how DNAm patterns across the genome relate to different sleep outcomes, and whether these associations overlap with mental health is currently unknown. Here, we investigated associations of DNAm with sleep and mental health in a pediatric population. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 465 10-year-old children (51.3% female) from the Generation R Study. Genome-wide DNAm levels were measured using the Illumina 450K array (peripheral blood). Sleep problems were assessed from self-report and mental health outcomes from maternal questionnaires. Wrist actigraphy was used in 188 11-year-old children to calculate sleep duration and midpoint sleep. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis was used to identify highly comethylated DNAm ‘modules’, which were tested for associations with sleep and mental health outcomes. Results: We identified 64 DNAm modules, one of which associated with sleep duration after covariate and multiple testing adjustment. This module included CpG sites spanning 9 genes on chromosome 17, including MAPT – a key regulator of Tau proteins in the brain involved in neuronal function – as well as genes previously implicated in sleep duration. Follow-up analyses suggested that DNAm variation in this region is under considerable genetic control and shows strong blood–brain concordance. DNAm modules associated with sleep did not overlap with those associated with mental health. Conclusions: We identified one DNAm region associated with sleep duration, including genes previously reported by recent GWAS studies. Further research is warranted to examine the functional role of this region and its longitudinal association with sleep

Prenatal and early postnatal measures of brain development and childhood sleep patterns

BackgroundBrain development underlies maturation of sleep patterns throughout childhood. Intrauterine head growth - marker of early neurodevelopment - has not been associated with childhood sleep characteristics. We explored associations between ultrasonographic measures of prenatal and early postnatal neurodevelopment and childhood sleep.MethodsA total of 6,808 children from a population-based birth cohort (Generation R) were included. Head circumference (HC) and lateral ventricles size were assessed with mid- and late-pregnancy fetal ultrasounds, and with cranial ultrasound 3-20 weeks postnatally. Mothers reported children's sleep duration at 2 and 3 years, and sleep problems at 1.5, 3, and 6 years.ResultsLarger ventricular size, but not HC, was related to longer sleep duration at 3 years (β=0.06 h, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.02; 0.10 in late-pregnancy and β=0.11 h, 95% CI: 0.02; 0.20 in early infancy, mid-pregnancy parameters were unrelated to sleep duration). Larger HC in mid-pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk for being a "problematic sleeper" up to the age of 6 years (odds ratio (OR): 0.94, 95% CI: 0.89; 0.99). Consistently, children with larger HC in early infancy were less likely to be "problematic sleepers" at 3 and 6 years.ConclusionsThis study shows that variations in fetal and neonatal brain size may underlie behavioral expression of sleep in childhood. Albeit small effect estimates, these associations provide evidence for neurodevelopmental origins of sleep

Preschool family irregularity and the development of sleep problems in childhood

Background: Previous studies have shown that poor family environments are related to more sleep problems; however, little is known about how family irregularity in early life affects the development of sleep problems ove

Sleep characteristics across the lifespan in 1.1 million people from the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States: a systematic review and meta-analysis

How long does the average person sleep? Here, Kocevska et al. conducted a meta-analysis including over 1.1 million people to produce age- and sex-specific population reference charts for sleep duration and efficiency.We aimed to obtain reliable reference charts for sleep duration, estimate the prevalence of sleep complaints across the lifespan and identify risk indicators of poor sleep. Studies were identified through systematic literature search in Embase, Medline and Web of Science (9 August 2019) and through personal contacts. Eligible studies had to be published between 2000 and 2017 with data on sleep assessed with questionnaires including >= 100 participants from the general population. We assembled individual participant data from 200,358 people (aged 1-100 years, 55% female) from 36 studies from the Netherlands, 471,759 people (40-69 years, 55.5% female) from the United Kingdom and 409,617 people (>= 18 years, 55.8% female) from the United States. One in four people slept less than age-specific recommendations, but only 5.8% slept outside of the 'acceptable' sleep duration. Among teenagers, 51.5% reported total sleep times (TST) of less than the recommended 8-10 h and 18% report daytime sleepiness. In adults (>= 18 years), poor sleep quality (13.3%) and insomnia symptoms (9.6-19.4%) were more prevalent than short sleep duration (6.5% with TST = 9 h in bed, whereas poor sleep quality was more frequent in those spending = 41 years) reported sleeping shorter times or slightly less efficiently than men, whereas with actigraphy they were estimated to sleep longer and more efficiently than man. This study provides age- and sex-specific population reference charts for sleep duration and efficiency which can help guide personalized advice on sleep length and preventive practices.Pathophysiology, epidemiology and therapy of agein

Risicofactoren voor psychische problemen en mogelijke interventies in de jonge jaren: Nederlands cohortonderzoek

Achtergrond De etiologie van psychiatrische stoornissen is multifactorieel. Doel Bespreken van factoren tijdens de zwangerschap en vroege kindertijd die bijdragen aan de ontwikkeling van psychische problemen. Methode Overzicht van de bevindingen van vier grote Nederlandse kindercohorten. Resultaten In plaats van op geïsoleerde risicofactoren is het belangrijk te focussen op het grotere geheel en op de samenhang van risico en veerkracht. Prenatale stress, gezinsfunctioneren en psychische problemen representeren een multifactorieel, multicausaal probleem en vroege interventies zijn gewenst, gericht op (aanstaande) ouders en kind. Conclusie De bevindingen van de cohortonderzoeken kunnen als aangrijpingspunten dienen voor vervolgonderzoek, preventie en interventie

Sleep characteristics across the lifespan in 1.1 million people from the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States: A systematic review and meta-analysis

We aimed to obtain reliable reference charts for sleep duration, estimate the prevalence of sleep complaints across the lifespan and identify risk indicators of poor sleep. Studies were identified through systematic literature search in Embase, Medline and Web of Science (9 August 2019) and through personal contacts. Eligible studies had to be published between 2000 and 2017 with data on sleep assessed with questionnaires including >= 100 participants from the general population. We assembled individual participant data from 200,358 people (aged 1-100 years, 55% female) from 36 studies from the Netherlands, 471,759 people (40-69 years, 55.5% female) from the United Kingdom and 409,617 people (>= 8 years, 55.8% female) from the United States. One in four people slept less than age-specific recommendations, but only 5.8% slept outside of the 'acceptable' sleep duration. Among teenagers, 51.5% reported total sleep times (TST) of less than the recommended 8-10 h and 18% report daytime sleepiness. In adults (>= 18 years), poor sleep quality (13.3%) and insomnia symptoms (9.6-19.4%) were more prevalent than short sleep duration (6.5% with TST = 9 h in bed, whereas poor sleep quality was more frequent in those spending = 41 years) reported sleeping shorter times or slightly less efficiently than men, whereas with actigraphy they were estimated to sleep longer and more efficiently than man. This study provides age- and sex-specific population reference charts for sleep duration and efficiency which can help guide personalized advice on sleep length and preventive practices