Injury to a parent may result in sleep issues for children and teens

Following a parental injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI), children (ages ≤17) had a 17% increased rate of outpatient care for sleep disorders for issues such as circadian rhythm disorder, insomnia, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome and unspecified sleep disorders, reported Capt. Saira Ahmed, MD, of the Walter Reed National Military Hospital in Washington, and colleagues. Also, teenagers had a 37% (incidence rate ratio 1.37, 95% CI 1.25-1.50) increase in sleep visits, they said in a presentation at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) annual meeting. Ahmed reported at an AAP press conference that her group accessed records from the Military Health System, and determined there was an overall 48% increase (IRR 1.48, 95% CI 1.33-1.63) in sleep visits among the children of parents who experienced PTSD and TBI. She told MedPage Today that only a small percentage of the parental injuries were related to combat. "These were common injuries...such as vehicular accidents or falls around the home, and therefore it is likely that the findings are applicable to the general population," Ahmed stated. https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/aap/76119?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2018-11-05&eun=g721819d0r&pos=11&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%202018-11-05&utm_term=Daily%20Headlines%20-%20Active%20User%20-%20180%20days