Sleep health behaviors in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Disrupted sleep and fatigue are common symptoms in children with cancer, but little is known about this population's sleep health behaviors and how they may impact nighttime sleep. We aimed to describe the sleep health behaviors of children with newly diagnosed cancer and to determine if they changed over the next 8 weeks. METHODS: Our sample included 169 children with cancer (86 males) who were aged 2-18 years (mean [SD] = 8.14 [4.4] y), with parent proxy report for 140 children (71 male) aged 2-12 years (mean [SD] = 6.67 [3.2] y) and self-report for 78 children (39 male) aged 8-18 years (mean [SD] = 12.0 [2.9] y). Parents and patients completed sleep hygiene questionnaires within 30 days of oncology diagnosis (T1); follow-up questionnaires were collected 8 weeks later (T2). Descriptive analyses characterized the sample by sociodemographic characteristics, cancer diagnosis, treatments received, and prescribed medications. RESULTS: Age-related differences were found in sleep health behaviors, with adolescents reporting better overall sleep health behaviors than younger children at both time points. No differences in sleep health behaviors were found at T1 related to diagnosis, treatment, or medications. Some differences in sleep health behaviors were found at T2 related to gender, diagnosis, treatment, and medications. Sleep health behaviors and sleep problems remained relatively stable over 8 weeks. Fatigue was significantly associated with more pre-bedtime worries, insomnia, and lower rates of daytime sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: These findings offer novel descriptive characteristics of sleep health behaviors in a pediatric oncology sample and show relatively stable yet somewhat poor sleep health behaviors across 8 weeks. Better understanding of sleep health behaviors as modifiable factors will help inform targeted interventions.

In-home salivary melatonin collection: Methodology for children and adolescents.

In-home salivary collection quality and adherence to a prescribed collection methodology for evaluation of dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) is unknown in children. Primary aims of this study were to 1) describe a novel family centered methodology for in-home salivary collection; 2) determine the acceptance and feasibility of this methodology; 3) measure adherence to collection instructions; and 4) identify patterns between participants' age and quality of samples collected. After receiving instructional handouts from the study team, families utilized in-home salivary melatonin collection. Participants (N = 64) included 39 children (21 female, mean age 9.5 ± 1.61 years) and 25 adolescents (11 female, mean age 15.9 ± 2.12 years) with craniopharyngioma. Participants were 90% adherent to collection schedule, and 89% of the samples collected were of sufficient quantity and quality, with no differences found between age (child vs. adolescent) and melatonin sample quantity and quality. In-home saliva collection provides an acceptable and feasible method to collect salivary melatonin and biomarkers in children and adolescents.

Predictors of fatigue and poor sleep in adult survivors of childhood Hodgkin's lymphoma: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

PURPOSE: Survivors of pediatric Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) are at risk for a number of debilitating late effects. Excessive fatigue and poor sleep quality are primary complaints of HL survivors. Understanding the emotional and physical factors that influence fatigue and sleep quality may provide opportunities for intervention to improve health-related quality of life for HL survivors. METHODS: Data from 751 adult survivors of childhood HL who participated in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) from 2000-2002 were analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression analyses investigated the demographic, psychological, and physical variables that predicted clinically significant levels of poor sleep quality, fatigue, and excessive daytime sleepiness. RESULTS: Survivors' self-reported level of emotional distress, pain, and physical functioning limitations did not differ from population norms. Clinically elevated levels of emotional distress (OR 8.38, 95% CI 4.28-16.42) and pain (OR 3.73, 95% CI 2.09-6.67) increased the risk for endorsing elevated levels of fatigue. Survivors with elevated levels of emotional distress (OR 6.83, 95% CI 2.71-15.90) and pain (OR 5.27, 95% CI 1.78-15.61) were more likely to report poor sleep quality. Pain (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.39-3.34) was related to excessive daytime sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: Emotional and physical factors are associated with elevated levels of fatigue, excessive daytime sleepiness, and poor sleep quality in survivors of pediatric HL. This is consistent with findings from research conducted with non-cancer survivors. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: These results suggest that interventions designed to target sleep and fatigue difficulties in the general population may be well suited for pediatric HL survivors as well.

Sleep and Pain in Pediatric Illness: A Conceptual Review.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disruption is a common comorbidity of pediatric pain. Consequences of pain and disrupted sleep, evidence for the pain-sleep relation, and how aspects of illness, treatment, and pharmacological pain management may contribute to or exacerbate these issues are presented. AIMS: This conceptual review explored the relation between pain and sleep in children diagnosed with chronic medical or developmental conditions. The goal of this review is to expand upon the literature by examining common themes in sleep disturbances associated with painful conditions across multiple pediatric illnesses. Populations reviewed include youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), migraines, cystic fibrosis (CF), sickle cell disease (SCD), cancer, juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), juvenile fibromyalgia (JFM), and functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). RESULTS: Consistent evidence demonstrates that children with medical or developmental conditions are more vulnerable to experiencing pain and subjective sleep complaints than healthy peers. Objective sleep concerns are common but often under-studied. Evidence of the pain-sleep relationship exists, particularly in pediatric SCD, IDD, and JIA, with a dearth of studies directly examining this relation in pediatric cancer, JFM, CF, and FGIDs. Findings suggest that assessing and treating pain and sleep disruption is important when optimizing functional outcomes. CONCLUSION: It is essential that research further examine objective sleep, elucidate the pain-sleep relationship, consider physiological and psychosocial mechanisms of this relationship, and investigate nonpharmacological interventions aimed at improving pain and sleep in vulnerable pediatric populations.