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Children
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Current Advances in Paediatric Sleep Medicine
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Current Advances in Paediatric Sleep Medicine

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2025 | Viewed by 5769

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ekkehart Paditz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Applied Prevention (Zentrum für Angewandte Prävention), Dresden, Germany
Interests: paediatric sleep medicine; differential diagnostics; melatonin; history of medicine
Prof. Dr. Silke Anna Theresa Weber

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Health Technology Assessment Unit, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Botucatu, Brazil
2. Department of Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Medical School (FMB) of São Paulo State University, Botucatu, Brazil
Interests: sleep apnea

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Children with suspected sleep disorders should be referred to a qualified paediatrician, as they perform an important gatekeeper function. We invite you to keep raising awareness of this issue so that the right course can be initiated at an appropriately early time. We welcome current reviews, studies and case descriptions from the fields of child and adolescent psychiatry, paediatric pneumology, otorhinolaryngology, orthodontics, neonatology, genetics, clinical pharmacology, epidemiology, health economics, the history of medicine and other specialist areas.

Prof. Dr. Ekkehart Paditz
Prof. Dr. Silke Anna Theresa Weber
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • paediatric sleep medicine
  • infant sleep
  • adenoidectomy
  • tonsillotomy
  • orthodontic appliances
  • non-hospital ventilation
  • cognitive behavioural therapy
  • melatonin
  • epistemology
  • differential diagnostics

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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13 pages, 944 KiB  
Article
Characteristics of Children and Adolescents with Insomnia and Comorbid Nightmares—A Secondary Analysis of Clinical Samples with an Age Range from 0 to 18 Years
by Angelika A. Schlarb, Isabel Brandhorst, Barbara Schwerdtle, Maria Zschoche, Andrea Kübler and Karolin Teichmüller
Children 2025, 12(2), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/children12020129 - 24 Jan 2025
Viewed by 936
Abstract
Background: Insomnia disorder in childhood and adolescence has severe implications on overall well-being and development. Age-specific treatments for insomnia disorder with cognitive behavioral interventions (CBT-I) are available and effective. Nightmare disorder also has severe consequences in children and adolescents. However, less is known [...] Read more.
Background: Insomnia disorder in childhood and adolescence has severe implications on overall well-being and development. Age-specific treatments for insomnia disorder with cognitive behavioral interventions (CBT-I) are available and effective. Nightmare disorder also has severe consequences in children and adolescents. However, less is known about children with insomnia (I) and comorbid nightmare disorder (I + N). Methods: In this retrospective study, data from 499 children and adolescents with insomnia disorder were included. The prevalence of a comorbid nightmare disorder (I + N) was calculated within three subsamples (toddlers and preschoolers 0.5–4 years, elementary school children 5–10 years, and adolescents 11–18 years). Differences between children with insomnia (I) and those with additional nightmare disorder (I + N) regarding age, sex, family background, sleep quality (SOL, WASO, TST, and SE) based on sleep logs, behavior sleep problems (based on interviews), and behavioral problems (CBCL and YSR) were calculated within each age group. Results: The overall prevalence of additional nightmares or nightmare disorder in children or adolescents with insomnia was 15–24%. We found various clinically relevant differences between I and I + N for each age group; for example, there were more sleep onset association problems in I + N elementary school children, prolonged SOL of 56 min, and about 50 min less TST and SE of 76.8% in I + N adolescents. However, most statistical tests were not significant. Especially sleep parameters but also emotional burden were more pronounced in I + N groups than in the I groups. Toddlers and preschoolers with I + N were significantly older than those with only I, had another family situation (e.g., divorced parents) significantly more often, and I + N adolescents were statistically more often anxious and depressed. Discussion: Descriptively, I + N children and adolescents seemed to be more impaired than those with insomnia only. However, a comorbid nightmare disorder cannot be recognized by insomnia-specific sleep parameters. Therefore, diagnostic procedures for insomnia should always screen for nightmares but also other sleep disorders. If necessary, CBT-I should be supplemented with nightmare-specific interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Paediatric Sleep Medicine)
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16 pages, 729 KiB  
Systematic Review
Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Pediatrics and Adolescent Women: A Systematic Review of Sex-Based Differences Between Girls and Boys
by Sofía Romero-Peralta, Cristina Rubio, María Castillo-García, Pilar Resano, Miguel Alonso, Esther Solano-Pérez, Laura Silgado, Esther Viejo-Ayuso, Leticia Álvarez-Balado and Olga Mediano
Children 2024, 11(11), 1376; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11111376 - 12 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1523
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is marked by repetitive occurrences of upper airway (UA) obstruction during sleep. Morbidities impacting the metabolic, cardiovascular (CV) and neurological systems are correlated with OSA. Only a few studies have described the existence of different characteristics depending on [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is marked by repetitive occurrences of upper airway (UA) obstruction during sleep. Morbidities impacting the metabolic, cardiovascular (CV) and neurological systems are correlated with OSA. Only a few studies have described the existence of different characteristics depending on sex and, to date, the girl phenotype in OSA pediatrics is not well known. The objective of this systematic review is to identify the specific phenotype of OSA in pediatric and adolescent females compared to males. Methods: A systematic review was performed. The terms “pediatric sleep apnea” and “sex differences” were used to look for publications using PubMed, the Cochrane Library and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria: (1) peer-reviewed journal articles written in English; (2) investigations conducted on individuals diagnosed with OSA; and (3) investigations providing information about sex differences. Exclusion criteria: (1) studies carried out with individuals aged 18 years and older; (2) studies involving a sample size of fewer than 10 patients; and (3) editorials, letters and case reports. Results: Fifteen studies were included and classified in sections related to sex-based differences. Conclusions: Limited information related to sex-based OSA differences in the pediatric population exists. These differences are conditioned by hormonal status, and are minimal in the premenarcheal period. Moreover, adolescent women present a lower prevalence of obesity and craniofacial alterations, lower OSA severity related to higher UA area and earlier tonsil regression. Hyperactivity is more frequent in boys. Some studies pointed to a higher risk of high diastolic blood pressure in girls than in boys. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Paediatric Sleep Medicine)
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30 pages, 2014 KiB  
Systematic Review
Postnatal Development of the Circadian Rhythmicity of Human Pineal Melatonin Synthesis and Secretion (Systematic Review)
by Ekkehart Paditz
Children 2024, 11(10), 1197; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11101197 - 29 Sep 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2697
Abstract
Introduction: According to current knowledge, at birth, the pineal gland and melatonin receptors are already present and the suprachiasmatic nucleus is largely functional, and noradrenaline, the key pineal transmitter, can be detected in the early foetal period. It is still unclear why the [...] Read more.
Introduction: According to current knowledge, at birth, the pineal gland and melatonin receptors are already present and the suprachiasmatic nucleus is largely functional, and noradrenaline, the key pineal transmitter, can be detected in the early foetal period. It is still unclear why the pineal gland is not able to start its own pulsatile synthesis and secretion of melatonin in the first months of life, and as a result, infants during this time are dependent on an external supply of melatonin. Method: The causes and consequences of this physiological melatonin deficiency in human infancy are examined in a systematic review of the literature, in which 40 of 115 initially selected publications were evaluated in detail. The references of these studies were checked for relevant studies on this topic. References from previous reviews by the author were taken into account. Results: The development and differentiation of the pineal gland, the pinealocytes, as the site of melatonin synthesis, and the development and synaptic coupling of the associated predominantly noradrenergic neural pathways and vessels and the associated Lhx4 homebox only occurs during the first year of life. Discussion: The resulting physiological melatonin deficiency is associated with sleep disorders, infant colic, and increased crying in babies. Intervention studies indicate that this deficiency should be compensated for through breastfeeding, the administration of nonpooled donor milk, or through industrially produced chrononutrition made from nonpooled cow’s milk with melatonin-poor day milk and melatonin-rich night milk. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Paediatric Sleep Medicine)
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