Sleep Behavior Disturbances in Rolandic Epilepsy

Abstract

The relationship between specific epilepsy syndromes and particular sleep symptoms has not been well delineated. The authors’ aim was to test the hypothesis that children with rolandic epilepsy exhibit more frequent sleep problems and daytime sleepiness compared with children without epilepsy. They compared parent-reported sleep behaviors of 43 children with rolandic epilepsy aged 6 to 16 years recruited from 5 US pediatric neurology centers with a historical reference and sleep clinic sample using the Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire. The authors compared the differences in mean frequency of sleep problems and patterns. Total Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire scores were significantly higher (P < .001) in the rolandic epilepsy sample than reference. Parents of children with rolandic epilepsy reported a significantly shorter sleep duration (P < .006), more frequent parasomnias (P < .008), and increased daytime sleepiness (P < .001). Thus, parents of children with rolandic epilepsy reported more problematic sleep and daytime impairment compared with a reference sample of children.