Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on December 12, 2007
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2008 33(4):387-395; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsm125
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Sleep Quality in Young Adults with Very Low Birth Weight—the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults
1National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland, 2Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland, 3Department of Psychology, Helsinki, Finland, and 4Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sonja Strang-Karlsson, MD, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Biomedicum 2, Tukholmankatu 8A, Helsinki University Central Hospital, PO Box 448, FI-00029, Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: sonja.strang{at}helsinki.fi
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Objective To assess the relationship between very low birth weight (VLBW; <1,500 g) and quality and amount of sleep in young adults. Methods We compared 89 VLBW and 78 term-born 19- to 26-year-old adults, by actigraphy and the Basic Nordic Sleep Questionnaire. Results There were no group differences in sleep quality or amount (p's >.15), although VLBW adults went to bed on average 36 min earlier (95% confidence interval 6–66 min). Shorter gestational age was related to longer sleep latency both within VLBW (standardized regression coefficient β = –.36, p =.040) and term-born adults (β = –.25, p =.029). Conclusion Adults with VLBW had similar quality and amount of sleep as those born at term, although VLBW adults went to bed earlier, suggesting an advanced sleep phase. Within each group, a lower gestational age was related to a longer sleep onset.
Key words: gestational age; prematurity; sleep; sleep disturbances; very low birth weight.
Received April 1, 2007; revision received October 26, 2007; accepted November 16, 2007