Poor sleep habits in pediatric epilepsy: a questionnaire-based study

Abstract Objectives This study aims to assess sleep disturbances in Egyptian children with epilepsy from a caregivers’ perspective compared to healthy controls and correlated to different disease phenotypes. Materials and methods This is a case-control study including 114 children aged 4–12 years with epilepsy, and 200 controls. The Arabic version of Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire abbreviated (CSHQ-A) was completed by the caregivers. The Global Assessment of Severity of Epilepsy (GASE) Scale was used to evaluate severity of epilepsy. Results The patients age was 8.4 ± 2.8 years and included 68 males. 79 (70%) of the patients had generalized epilepsy and the mean GASE score was 3.07 ± 1.7. According to the CSHQ-A total score, the frequency of poor sleep habits was 82.5%. Total and domains’ scores of CSHQ-A were significantly higher in patients compared to controls ( p < 0.001 for all). Patients with poor sleep habits had shorter duration of illness and higher GASE score ( p = 0.01 for both) compared to patients with good sleep habits. Total score of CSHQ-A correlated significantly with GASE score (correlation coefficient 0.6, p < 0.001). Conclusion This study reports a high prevalence of poor sleep habits among Egyptian children with epilepsy, with a strong correlation to disease severity underscoring the complex, bidirectional relationship between epilepsy and sleep, The use of the Arabic version of CSHQ-A, validated and applied for the first time, presents a promising screening tool for clinical and research in Arabic-speaking populations.