|
 Eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, can lead to scaly, itchy
rashes that keep kids up at night. But researchers don't have a
clear picture of how eczema affects kids' ability to fall asleep,
how often they awaken during the night, or how many total hours of
rest they get.
For the current study, researchers examined data on 13,988 kids,
including 4,938, or 35 percent, with eczema. All the kids had
multiple sleep assessments between ages two and 16.
Eczema didn't appear to impact the total amount of sleep kids got.
But compared to children without eczema, kids with mild eczema
flare-ups were 40 percent more likely to have lots of sleep
disturbances, and those with severe eczema flare-ups had 85 percent
higher odds, the study found.
Even when kids with eczema weren't having active symptoms, they were
still 41 percent more likely to have poor sleep quality throughout
childhood than kids without eczema.
"As you might expect, the impairment was stronger among children
with more severe disease and (kids who also had) asthma or allergic
rhinitis," said senior study author Dr. Katrina Abuabara of the
University of California, San Francisco.
"However, what was somewhat surprising was that the risk remained
elevated even among children with mild atopic dermatitis alone (and
no other atopic conditions), and it remained elevated even during
periods when atopic dermatitis was inactive," Abuabara said by
email.
Children with eczema are more apt to have asthma and allergies than
kids without the skin disorder, some previous research suggests.
When kids with eczema also had asthma or allergies, they were 52
percent more likely to have poor quality sleep throughout childhood
even when they didn't have active flare-ups, the study found. And
when children had asthma or allergies along with severe eczema
flare-ups, they were more than twice as likely to sleep poorly.
To assess sleep quantity, researchers surveyed mothers about what
time kids usually went to bed and woke up; in the final survey
16-year-olds answered for themselves. Naptimes were included in
total sleep hours until age seven.
Researchers also asked about factors involved in sleep quality
including the number of awakenings, difficulty falling asleep, and
nightmares.
[to top of second column] |
Kids with inactive eczema reported these sleep problems about as
often as children with mild eczema symptoms. And, scratching
episodes only accounted for 15 percent of awakenings.
These two findings suggest that flareups aren't the only thing
contributing to poor sleep quality in kids with eczema, researchers
conclude in JAMA Pediatrics.
One limitation of the study is that researchers largely relied on
parents to report eczema symptoms and assess kids' sleep. Some
previous research suggests that parents tend to overestimate how
long kids sleep and underestimate how often children awaken during
the night, the study authors note.
Kids also may not realize how eczema affects their sleep, said Dr.
Saxon Smith, a dermatologist at Royal North Shore Hospital in
Sydney, Australia, who wasn't involved in the study.
"Children will not always be aware of . . . scratching in their
sleep," Smith said by email.
"This can lead to disrupted sleep in terms of the quality of the
sleep, waking multiple times a night," Smith added. "This in turn
leads to manifestations of sleep deprivation including tiredness
through the day, impaired concentration, and poorer performance at
school (or delayed developmental milestones)," Smith said.
Kids who scratch less may sleep better, Smith said.
Eczema can be treated using moisturizers, avoiding certain soaps and
other irritants and with prescription creams and ointments
containing corticosteroids to relieve itching.
"Early intervention can lead to breaking of the itch-scratch cycle,"
Smith advised.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2NOJEJj JAMA Pediatrics, online March 4, 2019.
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
