Study of sleep habits and their effective factors in children admitted to Amirkabir Hospital, Arak

Introduction: Sleep disorders are the most common behavioral complaints in children. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the sleep habits of children admitted to Amirkabir Hospital, Arak, Iran. Material & Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, children aged 4 to 12 years admitted to Amirkabir Hospital clinic in 2021 were randomly studied. Data obtained from the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS24.0 software. Findings: A total of 295 children with a mean age of 7.26±2.27 years were studied. The prevalence of the disorder in sleep habits was 67.4%. Among the children with disturbed sleep habits, 193 (96.9%) had poor sleep habits and 6 (3.1%) had average sleep habits. The total sleep habits score was significantly higher in girls, unwanted children, and children with divorced parents, low parental education level, and incompatible parents (P0.05). Discussion & Conclusion: In this study, most children showed disturbed sleep habits. Considering that children's poor sleep habits may be a contributing factor for stress, pressure, and tension in the family, mass education and psychiatric intervention are needed in this regard

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Anxiety in Children With Malignancy

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Anxiety is the most common childhood psychiatric disorder. Based on studies, these disorders are more prevalent in some chronic disease. This study aimed at investigating the prevalence of ADHD and anxiety in children with malignancy and anxiety in their parents and comparing the results with those of the control group. One hundred, 3-15-year-old children with malignancy and 100 healthy children without malignancy or any chronic disease were included in this case-control study as case and control groups, respectively. Subjects were selected from children who were referred to the pediatric ward of Amir Kabir Hospital of Arak, Iran, in the form of simple probability and based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. ADHD and Anxiety were diagnosed by Conner's Parent Rating Scale-48 (CPRS-48) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) and were confirmed by psychologist consult. Data were analyzed by Student t-test in SPSS18. ADHD was observed in 23 cases (23%) with malignancy and 5 controls (5%) (P=0.001). In the case group, 57 children (57%) and 45 of their parents (45%) were suffering from anxiety while in the control group the figure was observed in 12 children (12%) and 11 of their parents (11%) (P=0.001). ADHD and anxiety are more common in children with malignancy as compared with children without malignancy and anxiety is also more common in their parents. Therefore, implementing interventions and psychiatric counseling are recommended for these children and their parents