FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Lynn Celmer, 630-737-9700, ext. 9364, lcelmer@aasm.org 
 
DARIEN, IL – A new study suggests that children with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) have poorer sleep and more daytime sleepiness in comparison to healthy children.

Results show that children with TBI were more likely to experience greater daytime sleepiness, sleep disturbances and a poorer overall sleep quality. The children with TBI also had impaired emotional, physical and social functioning when compared to healthy children. 

“We were surprised that children with a TBI experienced persistent increases in daytime sleepiness and decreases in sleep quality compared to healthy children,” said principal investigator Kimberly Allen, PhD, RN, assistant professor, Center for Narcolepsy, Sleep and Health Research, Department of Women Children and Family Health Science, at the University of Illinois-Chicago. 

The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented Monday, June 8, in Seattle, Washington, at SLEEP 2015, the 29th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

The study group comprised 15 children with TBI and 15 healthy children, matched on age, race and maternal education level. Parents of children with TBI and parents of health children completed three surveys related to their child’s sleep behaviors and sleep quality: Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), Child Sleep Wake Scale (CSWS), and the modified Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).

The study was supported by a T32 grant from the University of Washington with mentorship from Drs. Karen Thomas and Carol Landis.

Abstract Title: Sleep after Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Survey Study
Abstract ID: 1050
Presentation Date: Monday, June 8
Presentation Type: Poster 107
Presentation Time: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The SLEEP 2015 abstract supplement is available at https://journalsleep.org/ViewAbstractSupplement.aspx

For a copy of the abstract or to arrange an interview with the study author or an AASM spokesperson, please contact AASM Communications Coordinator Lynn Celmer at 630-737-9700, ext. 9364, or lcelmer@aasm.org.

About SLEEP 2015
More than 5,000 sleep medicine physicians and sleep scientists will gather at SLEEP 2015, the 29th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS), which will be held June 6-10 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. The scientific program will include about 1,200 research abstract presentations. The APSS is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society (www.sleepmeeting.org). 

About the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Established in 1975, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) improves sleep health and promotes high quality patient centered care through advocacy, education, strategic research, and practice standards. With nearly 10,000 members, the AASM is the largest professional membership society for physicians, scientists and other health care providers dedicated to sleep medicine (www.aasm.org).