Wanjie Tang1, Yi Lu2, Yanchun Yang3, Jiuping Xu4. 1. Institute of Emergency Management and Post-disaster Reconstruction, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Centre for Educational and Health Psychology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Mental Health Center, State Key Lab of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. 2. Institute of Emergency Management and Post-disaster Reconstruction, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. 3. Mental Health Center, State Key Lab of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. 4. Institute of Emergency Management and Post-disaster Reconstruction, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: xujiuping@scu.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study investigated the prevalence of sleep problems and their associated risk factors in child and adolescent survivors three years after the 2013 Ya'an earthquake. METHODS: A total of 6132 adolescent survivors aged 9-18 years were invited to complete the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale-13, Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, and Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders. Logistic analysis was used to identify possible relationships of sleep disturbance scores with earthquake exposures, mental health and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: More than a quarter of the sample showed sleep problems of some kind, with 23.1% sleeping fewer than 7 h per night, 32.5% having difficulty falling asleep, 24.2% having difficulty remaining asleep, 25.3% having poor sleep quality, 17.4% having nightmares and 44.6% having difficulty functioning during daytime hours. Older participants were at a significantly higher risk of sleep issues than younger children (OR 2.89), and the subjects had significantly elevated risks of probable anxiety (OR 3.47), probable depression (OR 2.45), and probable posttraumatic stress disorder (OR 1.89). Other risk factors for sleep problems were earthquake exposure variables, including being injured (OR 1.42), having a parent injured (OR 1.27), witnessing death (OR 1.32) or feeling extremely scared (OR 1.22) in the Ya'an earthquake. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep disturbances are common in adolescent earthquake survivors, and they are associated with age, gender, psychiatric symptoms and factors related to earthquake exposure. These results highlight the importance of development- and gender-specific interventions to prevent sleep disturbances after a major earthquake.
BACKGROUND: This study investigated the prevalence of sleep problems and their associated risk factors in child and adolescent survivors three years after the 2013 Ya'an earthquake. METHODS: A total of 6132 adolescent survivors aged 9-18 years were invited to complete the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale-13, Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, and Screen for ChildAnxiety-Related Emotional Disorders. Logistic analysis was used to identify possible relationships of sleep disturbance scores with earthquake exposures, mental health and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: More than a quarter of the sample showed sleep problems of some kind, with 23.1% sleeping fewer than 7 h per night, 32.5% having difficulty falling asleep, 24.2% having difficulty remaining asleep, 25.3% having poor sleep quality, 17.4% having nightmares and 44.6% having difficulty functioning during daytime hours. Older participants were at a significantly higher risk of sleep issues than younger children (OR 2.89), and the subjects had significantly elevated risks of probable anxiety (OR 3.47), probable depression (OR 2.45), and probable posttraumatic stress disorder (OR 1.89). Other risk factors for sleep problems were earthquake exposure variables, including being injured (OR 1.42), having a parent injured (OR 1.27), witnessing death (OR 1.32) or feeling extremely scared (OR 1.22) in the Ya'an earthquake. CONCLUSIONS:Sleep disturbances are common in adolescent earthquake survivors, and they are associated with age, gender, psychiatric symptoms and factors related to earthquake exposure. These results highlight the importance of development- and gender-specific interventions to prevent sleep disturbances after a major earthquake.
Authors: Betty S Lai; Annette M La Greca; Courtney A Colgan; Whitney Herge; Sherilynn Chan; Julia Medzhitova; Mary Short; Beth Auslander Journal: J Pediatr Psychol Date: 2020-10-01
Authors: Francesca Pistoia; Massimiliano Conson; Mario Quarantelli; Luca Panebianco; Antonio Carolei; Giuseppe Curcio; Simona Sacco; Gennaro Saporito; Ernesto Di Cesare; Antonio Barile; Carlo Masciocchi; Alessandra Splendiani Journal: Front Neurosci Date: 2019-09-27 Impact factor: 4.677