Epidemiology of Sleep Disturbances Among Primary School Students in Kerman, Iran, in 2019

ABSTRACT

Primary sleep disturbances are common in both children and adults and can lead to cognitive problems and educational and psychological disorders. In this study, we evaluated the epidemiology of sleep disturbances among children in Kerman, Iran, in 2019. This cross-sectional study was done in 2019 with 561 children in elementary schools of Kerman, Iran. Data were collected by a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire that was filled out by parents and analyzed statistically. A total of 561children with a mean age of 9.54 ± 1.55 years were enrolled. The ratio of boys to girls was 1.01 and consistent across age groups. The prevalence of sleep disturbances in this population study was 26.7% (150 patients); 51.3% of them were girls. Sleep disturbances were associated with mothers’ lower education level and parents’ higher job positions (P < .05). This study showed the relatively high prevalence of sleep disturbances among children in this region. It can be reduced by a program such as sleep training or by promoting the level of parents’ education. We recommend some educational programs and preschool screening to evaluate sleep disturbances and educating the parents to increase their responsiveness.

KEYWORDS:

• Sleep disturbances
• students
• epidemiology
• Kerman
• Iran

Acknowledgments

We express our appreciation to the Shafa Hospital staff of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran, for their cooperation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.