Short Report: Lack of Diurnal Variation in Salivary Cortisol Is Linked to Sleep Disturbances and Heightened Anxiety in Adolescents with Williams Syndrome

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine the potential relationship between sleep patterns, cortisol levels, and anxiety profiles in adolescents with Williams Syndrome (WS) compared to typically developing adolescents. Method: Thirteen adolescents with WS and thirteen TD adolescents (age range 12–18 years) were recruited. Participants were provided with a “testing kit”, containing instructions for collecting data through a sleep diary, MotionWare actigraphy, the Childhood Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), and the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale, and a salivary cortisol collection kit. Results: Adolescents in the WS group did not show diurnal variation in salivary cortisol. Significantly higher scores were reported for two CSHQ subsections, night wakings and parasomnias, in the WS group. Regarding the actigraphy, only significantly longer sleep latency was observed in the WS group. In comparison to the TD group, the WS group had significantly higher anxiety. As expected, the TD group showed typical diurnal variation in cortisol, whereas the WS group showed a flattened cortisol profile throughout the day. Conclusions: From the developmental perspective, this study provides new data supporting the conclusion that sleep problems are not transient but continue to persist into adolescence in WS. Future studies ought to consider examining the role of cortisol and its interplay with anxiety levels and sleep problems across the lifespan in individuals with WS.

Parental and Child Sleep: Children with Vision Impairment, Autistic Children, and Children with Comorbid Vision Impairment and Autism

“…Generally, our exploratory findings are consistent with the previous literature that reports greater sleep disturbance in children with a developmental disability (e.g., [7,8,76]), including autism (e.g., [77][78][79]) in relation to typically developing peers, and contradicted previous findings [27] where developmental condition (i.e., VI or typically developing) did not predict poor sleep outcomes. The CSHQ results further provide evidence that the comorbidity of VI + autism might be a stronger driving condition behind sleep problems and sleep disturbance in the pediatric population compared to a diagnosis of VI or autism alone.…”