Abstract
Objectives:
Little is known about the impact of sleep disturbances on the structural properties of the developing brain. This study explored associations between childhood sleep disturbances and brain morphology at 7 years.
Methods:
Mothers from the Generation R cohort reported sleep disturbances in 720 children at ages 2 months, 1.5, 2, 3, and 6 years. T1-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images were used to assess brain structure at 7 years. Associations of sleep disturbances at each age and of sleep disturbance trajectories with brain volumes (total brain volume, cortical and subcortical grey matter, white matter) were tested with linear regressions. To assess regional differences, sleep disturbance trajectories were tested as determinants for cortical thickness in whole-brain analyses.
Results:
Sleep disturbances followed a declining trend from toddlerhood onwards. Infant sleep was not associated with brain morphology at age 7. Per SD sleep disturbances (one frequent symptom or two less frequent symptoms) at 2 and 3 years of age, children had −6.3 (−11.7 to −0.8) cm3 and −6.4 (−11.7 to −1.7) cm3 smaller grey matter volumes, respectively. Sleep disturbances at age 6 years were associated with global brain morphology (grey matter: −7.3 (−12.1 to −2.6), p value = .01). Consistently, trajectory analyses showed that more adverse developmental course of childhood sleep disturbances are associated with smaller grey matter volumes and thinner dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
Conclusion:
Sleep disturbances from age 2 years onwards are associated with smaller grey matter volumes. Thinner prefrontal cortex in children with adverse sleep disturbance trajectories may reflect effects of sleep disturbances on brain maturation.
Little is known about the impact of sleep disturbances on the structural properties of the developing brain. This study explored associations between childhood sleep disturbances and brain morphology at 7 years.
Methods:
Mothers from the Generation R cohort reported sleep disturbances in 720 children at ages 2 months, 1.5, 2, 3, and 6 years. T1-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images were used to assess brain structure at 7 years. Associations of sleep disturbances at each age and of sleep disturbance trajectories with brain volumes (total brain volume, cortical and subcortical grey matter, white matter) were tested with linear regressions. To assess regional differences, sleep disturbance trajectories were tested as determinants for cortical thickness in whole-brain analyses.
Results:
Sleep disturbances followed a declining trend from toddlerhood onwards. Infant sleep was not associated with brain morphology at age 7. Per SD sleep disturbances (one frequent symptom or two less frequent symptoms) at 2 and 3 years of age, children had −6.3 (−11.7 to −0.8) cm3 and −6.4 (−11.7 to −1.7) cm3 smaller grey matter volumes, respectively. Sleep disturbances at age 6 years were associated with global brain morphology (grey matter: −7.3 (−12.1 to −2.6), p value = .01). Consistently, trajectory analyses showed that more adverse developmental course of childhood sleep disturbances are associated with smaller grey matter volumes and thinner dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
Conclusion:
Sleep disturbances from age 2 years onwards are associated with smaller grey matter volumes. Thinner prefrontal cortex in children with adverse sleep disturbance trajectories may reflect effects of sleep disturbances on brain maturation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | zsw022 |
| Journal | Sleep |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2017 |
Bibliographical note
FUNDING:The general design of Generation R Study is made possible by financial
support from the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Erasmus University
Rotterdam, ZonMw, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, and
the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, and is conducted by the Erasmus
Medical Center in close collaboration with the School of Law and Faculty
of Social Sciences of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Municipal
Health Service Rotterdam area, the Rotterdam Homecare Foundation, and the
Stichting Trombosedienst & Artsenlaboratorium Rijnmond (STAR-MDC),
Rotterdam. The first phase of the Generation R Study was made possible by
financial support from the Erasmus Medical Centre and The Netherlands
Organization for Health Research and Development (Zon MW Geestkracht
Program 10.000.1003 and VIDI Grant 017.106.370 to HT). ERAWEB scholarship grant financed by the European Commission was granted to DK (grant
agreement 2013–2548/001-001-EMA-2). The work of Tonya White (MRI
component of the study) was supported by the Netherlands Organization for
Health Research and Development (ZonMw) TOP project number 91211021.
Furthermore, the study was made possible by financial support from the
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (No.:
633595, DynaHealth). Supercomputing resources were supported by the NWO
Physical Sciences Division (Exacte Wetenschappen) and SURFsara (Lisa
compute cluster, www.surfsara.nl).
Research programs
- ESSB PED
- EMC MM-04-54-08-A
- EMC NIHES-03-30-02
- EMC ONWAR-01-58-02