Association between colic and sleep problems in infancy and subsequent development, emotional and behavioral problems: a longitudinal study

Abstract

Background Sleep and colic problems in infancy have been linked to adverse health outcome, but there is limited knowledge of the association between sleep and colic problems in infancy and subsequent development, emotional and behavior problems in young children. The aim of the present study was to examine whether there is an associations between infants’ crying and sleep problems at 6 months and behavioral and development problems at 18 months, 3 and 5 years. Methods This study is based on the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), conducted at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health from June 1999 to December 2008. A total of 86,724 children were included. Colic and sleep (sleep duration, nocturnal awakenings and easy to put to bed) was assessed by mother-reports. Z-scores were used to assess differences between groups of children (e.g. having colic or not, having a sleep problem or not). Emotional and behavioral problems were measured with items from the Child Behavior Checklist. Development problems were measured with items from The Ages and Stages Questionnaire. Results Infants with colic scored significantly lower on development at 5 years (B=-0.10, CI [− 0.14 to - 0.06]) and higher on internalizing problems both at 3 years (B=0.15. CI [0.11 to 0.18]) and 5 years (B=0.17. CI [0.12 to 0.21]) than the reference population. Children who awoke frequently and were more difficult to put to bed at 6 months scored significantly lower on development at 18 months and 3 and 5 years, and higher on internalizing behavior problems at 3 and 5 years (B=0.18 and B=0.16). Children with shorter sleep duration at 6 months had more internalizing behavior problems at 3 years (B=0.14. CI [0.07 to 0.21]) and 5 years (B=0.15. CI [0.05 to 0.25]) than the reference population. Conclusions Colic and sleep problems early in life should be taken into account as risk factors for development and behavioral problems within the first 5 years of a child’s life.

Efficacy and Safety of a Colic Relief Remedy in Infantile Colic

“…2 , 3 Although infant colic usually resolves itself after the first 3 to 4 months after birth, it is associated with significant parental distress and if it persists beyond 3 months it can pose a risk of adverse developmental, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. 4 …”

“…2,3 Although infant colic usually resolves itself after the first 3 to 4 months after birth, it is associated with significant parental distress and if it persists beyond 3 months it can pose a risk of adverse developmental, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. 4 The systematic literature reviews have shown that to date no single effective treatment exists for infantile colic. 5 Unfortunately, the conventional treatments have shown contradictory results, and some of them have potential side effects, including breathing difficulties and coma.…”

Night Sleep and Parental Bedtime Practices in Low-Risk Preterm and Full-Term Late Talkers

“…Sleep is essential for healthy child development and its characteristics are related to cognitive, linguistic, behavioral, and motor development from very early in life [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Sleep patterns, like daytime and night duration, efficiency, and rhythm, change with development.…”

Daily skin-to-skin contact and crying and sleeping in healthy full-term infants: A randomized controlled trial.

“…Whereas normative infant development is characterized by large fluctuations in crying behavior (de Weerth et al, 1999) and a gradual consolidation of the sleep–wake cycle (Wolke, 2019), infant crying and/or short sleep durations are related to parental experience of exhaustion, depression, and anxiety (de Kruijff et al, 2021; Kurth et al, 2011; Petzoldt et al, 2016), and can even lead to maltreatment (Hemmi et al, 2011; Lee et al, 2007). Moreover, research indicates that excessive infant crying is a risk factor for later poor mental health outcomes, including socioemotional and inattention problems (Botha et al, 2019), and that shorter durations of infant sleep are a risk factor for the development of childhood obesity, impaired growth, and behavioral problems (Chaput et al, 2017; Gillman & Ludwig, 2013; Valla et al, 2021; Zhou et al, 2015). These findings highlight the fact that finding easily accessible ways for parents to reduce infant crying duration and extend infant sleeping duration during the first postnatal months may be beneficial for both parents and infants alike.…”