مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري -

چكيده لاتين :

Objective:Sleep diso rders are commo n in children; they also have a significant impact on the w ho le family, the parents in particul ar. Few studies in th is fie ld have been performed in lran; hence the present study was carried out in order to determ ine sleep patterns and the prevalence of sleep di sorders in schoo l aged chi ldren in Qazv in. Material and Methods: This cross sectional study was done on 300 students (150 males and 150 females) of elementary school s in Qazvin, selected from cluster random samp les. The duration of the study was from November 2006 to February 2007, and data was acquired by means of a standard pediatric sleep questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of sleep disorder among subjects was 44.3% (47.3°;י, in males, and 41.3% in females), and the di sorder was severe in 21% of the studied children. Sleep patterns during the school days differed significantly from what was observed on Fridays (p=0.000). In addition, there was a significant d ifference between males and females in terms of duration of sleep on Fridays (p=0.014). Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of sleep disorders in children, their harmful im pact on the development of the nervous system and the childיs learning and psychological health as well as on parental competency , and again bearing in mind the low level of aware ness among the general population about sleep hygiene, we strongly recommend educational programs via public media and via meetings with the parents in schools.