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Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access published online on November 17, 2007
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsm110
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Gender Differences in Sleep, Fatigue, and Daytime Activity in a Pediatric Oncology Sample Receiving Dexamethasone

Stacy D. Sanford, PhD, James O. Okuma, MS, Jianmin Pan, PhD, Deo Kumar Srivastava, PhD, Nancy West, BSN, Lynne Farr, PhD and Pamela S. Hinds, PhD, FAAN

St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis

All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Stacy Sanford, PhD, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, 332 N. Lauderdale St MS, 740, Memphis TN 38105, USA. E-mail: Stacy.Sanford{at}stjude.org


  Abstract

Objective To examine gender differences in sleep, fatigue, and daytime activity in a sample of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methods Participants included 88 children in maintenance treatment for ALL (34 girls; 54 boys). Participants wore an actigraph for 10 consecutive days (5 days pre-dexamethasone and 5 days during dexamethasone administration). Fatigue instruments were also administered. Results Girls napped more and had less fragmented night sleep than boys did. Wake time after sleep onset was sensitive to dexamethasone administration, revealing a differential direction of response for girls and boys. No gender differences were observed for subjective fatigue or daytime activity in the total sample. Conclusions Our preliminary findings support gender differences in the sleep of children with cancer after controlling for differences in age, treatment, and risk group. Future research that focuses on the etiology of gender differences and developing interventions will help clarify the clinical application of our findings.

Key words: actigraphy; acute lymphoblastic leukemia; dexamethasone; fatigue; gender differences; pediatric oncology; sleep.

Received May 14, 2007; revision received October 10, 2007; accepted October 16, 2007


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