Sleep and neurobehavioral functioning in boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and no reported breathing problems

Study Objective: To investigate by objective measures the neurobehavioral correlates of sleep patterns in boys with attention-deficif/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and no reported breathing problems and in control children. Design: Sleep assessment was conducted for 5 consecutive days and neurobehavioral assessment was conducted in the morning of the third day of measurement in children with ADHD and no breathing problems and control children. Setting: The neurobehavioral assessment was conducted in the school; sleep was assessed in the home. Participants: 25 controls and 24 boys diagnosed with ADHD between 7 and 11 years of age. Measurements: Sleep was monitored using actigraphy for 5 consecutive nights. A computerized neurobehavioral evaluation system was used to assess children's neurobehavioral functioning. Results: Canonical correlation analyses revealed different patterns of associations between sleep and neurobehavioral functioning for the 2 groups. Significant relationships were found between measures of sleep and performance on complicated neurobehavioral tasks in the control group but not in the ADHD group. In addition, children with ADHD had increased instability of sleep parameters compared to the controls. Conclusions: The findings highlighted the distinct nature of associations between sleep and neurobehavioral functioning in boys with ADHD children and no reported breathing problems compared to controls. Despite the similarity between symptoms caused by sleep fragmentation and symptoms of ADHD, these appear to be different clinical conditions. The source of inattentiveness in children should be identified for best planning of clinical intervention.