Sleep in Parental Caregivers and Children With Type 1 Diabetes.

The purpose of this cross-sectional, descriptive, pilot study was to examine the correlations in sleep between caregivers (≥18 years) and young (6-12 years) children with type 1 diabetes. Sleep was measured in both parent and child over 7 days using actigraphy and a sleep diary. Parents completed questionnaires on sleep, stress, depressive symptoms, and demographics. Children completed pediatric anxiety and fatigue questionnaires, and A1C (Hemoglobin A1c) was documented at clinic. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations were used to analyze data. Parents (N = 18, mean age: 39.3 ± 5.4 years, 100% Caucasian, 83% mothers) and children (N = 18, mean age: 9.6 ± 2.4 years, diagnosed for mean 3.0 ± 2.4 years, 66% female, mean A1C: 7.5 ± 0.8%) were recruited. Strong to moderate correlations were found for several measures including sleep measures based on actigraphy: mean sleep duration (hours; 7.6 ± 0.7 for parents and 8.8 ± 0.8 for children; r = .638, p = .004), mean sleep efficiency (r = .823, p < .001), and mean daily wake after sleep onset (minutes; r = .530, p = .024).

Child and Maternal Factors That Influence Child Blood Pressure in Preschool Children: An Exploratory Study.

PURPOSE: Hypertension is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults and children and has its origins in childhood. While the prevalence of hypertension in children is estimated to be 2 to 5%, instance elevations in blood pressure readings (BPRs) in school-age children and adolescents are more common, track to adulthood, and are an independent risk factor for CVD. Less information is available about BPR in the preschool period and what child factors could influence those BPR. The primary aims of this exploratory study were to determine child blood pressure (BP) levels and determine effect sizes of the relationships between child and maternal factors that can influence child BP. METHODS: A convenience sample of 15 rural and 15 urban children enrolled in Head Start programs (13 males; 14 females; all black) with ability to understand and speak English and with mothers who gave consent and could understand, read and speak English were enrolled. Mothers completed demographic information about their child including, gender, birth history and age. Height, weight, waist circumference and BP were measured in the mothers and the children. Children gave saliva specimens for cortisol and C-reactive protein. RESULTS: Over 37% of the children had elevated BPR with over 20% at or above the 95th percentile. Effect sizes of relationships ranged from very small to large. CONCLUSION: Elevations in BPR may be seen as early as preschool. It is important to examine factors, both child and maternal that influence BP.

Sleep quality, stress, caregiver burden, and quality of life in maternal caregivers of young children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Little is known about the influence of sleep quality, stress, and caregiver burden on quality of life in maternal caregivers of young children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). In 61 maternal caregivers (mean age 29.59 years) of young children with BPD (mean age 13.93 months), caregivers reported sleeping a mean of 5.8 hours, and significant correlations were found between sleep quality and depressive symptoms and stress, as well as an inverse correlation with quality of life. Sleep quality was found to be the most significant predictor of quality of life in maternal caregivers.

Shift work organization on nurse injuries: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Extended work hours and shift work can result in mistimed sleep, excessive sleepiness, and fatigue, which affects concentration and cognition. Impaired concentration and cognition negatively affect employee safety. OBJECTIVE: To examine the evidence of the impact of shift work organization, specifically work hours and scheduling, on nurse injuries including needlestick and sharps injuries, drowsy driving and motor vehicle crashes, and work-related accidents causing a near miss or actual injury to the nurse. METHODS: A scoping review was conducted using search results from five bibliographic databases. RESULTS: Through database searching, 7788 articles were identified. During the title and abstract screening, 5475 articles were excluded. Full text screening eliminated 1971 articles. During the data extraction phase, 206 articles were excluded leaving 34 articles from 14 countries in the scoping review. The results of the review suggest a strong association in nurses between long work hours and overtime and an increased risk for needlestick and sharps injuries, drowsy driving and motor vehicle crashes, and other work-related accidents. Rotating shifts increase the risk for needlestick and sharps injuries and other work-related accidents while night and rotating shifts increase the risk for drowsy driving and motor vehicle crashes. CONCLUSIONS: Proper management of work hours and scheduling is essential to maximize recovery time and reduce or prevent nurse injuries. Nurse leaders, administrators, and managers, have a responsibility to create a culture of safety. This begins with safe scheduling practices, closely monitoring for near miss and actual nurse injuries, and implementing evidence-based practice strategies to reduce these occurrences.

Trait Mindfulness and Mindfulness Practices in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes: Descriptive and Comparative Study.

INTRODUCTION: Study describes mindfulness (trait and practices) and compares levels of trait mindfulness (low/high) and practices (yes/no) on demographic, clinical characteristics, and diabetes-related outcomes among adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D). METHODS: Adolescents completed a survey on demographics, clinical data, trait mindfulness/practices, diabetes-specific stress, and diabetes self-management (DSM). Glycemic control (A1c) obtained from medical records. T and χ2 tests were applied for comparative analyses. RESULTS: 129 adolescents (12-18 years) reported moderately high levels of mindfulness (31 ± 8; range, 10-40). One-third (30%) reported having experience with mindfulness practices (formal, informal, and religious). Adolescents who reported higher levels of trait mindfulness had higher insulin pump usage (p =.005), less diabetes-specific stress (p <.001), greater DSM (p =.006), and less A1c (p =.013). Adolescents who reported more types of mindfulness practices had greater DSM scores. DISCUSSION: Adolescents with higher levels of trait mindfulness and with more types of mindfulness practices had better diabetes-related outcomes. Introducing mindfulness training tailored to adolescents with T1D should be examined.

Variations in Genes Related to Sleep Patterns in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbance is a frequent comorbidity in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), affecting an estimated 40-80% of cases. Previous reports have shown relationships between several circadian rhythm-related genes and sleep problems in ASD. The purpose of the present study was to relate variation in and around melatonin synthesis and suprachiasmatic nucleus genes to sleep problems in a large sample of children with ASD. METHOD: This secondary analysis used existing genotypic and phenotypic data for 2,065 children, aged 4-18 years, from the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC). Sleep problems were measured with the SSC Sleep Interview. Expression quantitative trait loci and single nucleotide polymorphisms in 25 circadian genes were chosen primarily for their impact on expression levels of target genes in the brain. Associations between variants and composite sleep problems, nighttime problems, daytime problems, and sleep duration problems were calculated using logistic regression analysis. Age, sex, nonverbal IQ, ASD severity, gastrointestinal distress, seizures, and ancestry were included as covariates. Transmission disequilibrium tests were performed to test for overtransmission of alleles in the same variants. RESULTS: No significant associations or transmission disequilibrium were found between gene variants and sleep problems in this sample of children with ASD. CONCLUSION: Variation in expression of investigated genes in the melatonin synthesis and suprachiasmatic nucleus pathways did not have notable impacts on sleep problems in this large sample of children with ASD. Future research could explore translational and posttranslational effects of these genes or the effects of genes in other sleep-homeostasis pathways on sleep patterns.