This study aimed to investigate the relationship between chronotype preference/sleep problems and symptom severity of children with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during the confinement and social isolation of the COVID-19 outbreak. This study included 46 drug-naive children aged 4-17 y diagnosed with ASD. The Autism Behavior Checklist (AuBC), Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), and Children's chronotype questionnaire (CCQ) were filled out before and at the end of the COVID-19 mandated home confinement by the children's parents. Children with ASD during the home confinement reported higher chronotype scores, i.e., eveningness chronotype, sleep problems, and autism symptom scores compared to the normal non-hone confinement state. The chronotype score and sleep problems of children with ASD during the home confinement period varied according to the AuBC score. The sleep problems of the children with ASD during the home confinement period mediated the relationship between chronotype score and severity of autism symptoms. It is essential to validate the role of the mediator effect of sleep problems and chronotype in larger samples of children with ASD with restricted to home confinement during the pandemic period. If sleep problems can be controlled with parental education, pharmacotherapy, and psychotherapeutic interventions, the impact on children with ASD of home confinement can be reduced.
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between chronotype preference/sleep problems and symptom severity of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) during the COVID-19 outbreak and to assess the chronotype preference/sleep problems that may play a mediating role in the relationship between the reactions to trauma and severity of ADHD symptoms. The sample of this single-center cross-sectional study consisted of 76 children with ADHD and their parents. Trauma symptoms were evaluated with the Children's Impact of Event Scale (CRIES-8); sleep habits were assessed using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ); and chronotype was assessed using the Children's Chronotype Questionnaire (CCQ). There were significant differences in CRIES-8 and CSHQ scores between the eveningness type group and the non-eveningness type group. The CRIES-8 scores of children with ADHD were related to the CCQ and CSHQ scores and severity of ADHD symptoms. In mediation analyses, sleep problems were found to be the full mediating factor in the relationship between CRIES-8 scores and severity of ADHD symptoms and the relationship between CCQ scores and the severity of ADHD symptoms. Our findings indicate that chronotype plays an important role on the negative effects of home confinement of ADHD children during the COVID-19 outbreak. The role of the full mediator of sleep problems in the path from cognition to the behavior of young ADHD and non-ADHD children confined to the home environment during the pandemic period requires further assessment.
The current study was designed to investigate the changes that occur in depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms and health-related quality of life during methylphenidate (MPH) treatment in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Forty-five treatment naive children with ADHD, aged 8-14, were assessed based on self, parent and teacher reports at the baseline and at the end of the first and third month of MPH treatment regarding changes in inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Changes in the quality of life were also noted. Repeated measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests with Bonferroni corrections were conducted in order to evaluate the data. Symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity were significantly reduced (p < 0.017) following a three-month MPH treatment. There were significant decreases in depression (p = 0.004), trait anxiety (p = 0.000) and checking compulsion symptom scores (p = 0.001). Moreover, parents reported significant improvements in psychosocial (p = 0.001) and total scores (p = 0.009) of quality of life, despite no change in physical health scores (p > 0.05). Children's ratings of quality of life measures showed no significant changes in physical health and psychosocial scores (p > 0.05), while total scores significantly improved (p = 0.001) after the treatment. Over a three-month MPH treatment, depression, trait anxiety and checking compulsion symptoms decreased and quality of life seemed to improve along with those of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.
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