Abstract
Rheumatic diseases (RD) are often diagnosed in childhood. Sleep disorders are commonly associated with RD in children. It is stressed that sleep disorders found in this type of clinical pathology cannot be exceptionally considered as an epiphenomenon typical to any form of chronic disease; rather, sleep disorders should be regarded as a part of the clinical manifestations of RD. An important role in the origins of this association is played by specific inflammatory mediators involved in the pathogenesis of various RD, which simultaneously affect the structure of sleep and contribute to sleep disorders. There are both nonspecific and characteristic variants of sleep disorders detected in some leading clinical forms of RD in children, in particular in juvenile rheumatoid (idiopathic) arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic scleroderma, seronegative spondyloarthropathies, fibromyalgia. There is a relationship between the severity of sleep disorders, the activity of RD, the degree of emotional disorders and pain symptoms in children. Approaches to the correction of sleep disorders in children in the context of the treatment of RD are substantiated.