Missed sleep may contribute to asthma morbidity

(HealthDay) -- Missed sleep may contribute to asthma morbidity in urban children, according to a study published in the July issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Lauren C. Daniel, Ph.D., from Brown University in Providence, R.I., and colleagues assessed the associations between missed sleep, asthma-related quality of life, and indicators of asthma morbidity, based on responses from parents of 147 urban children with asthma. Participating children, aged 6 to 13 years, were from Latino, African-American, and non-Latino white backgrounds.

Across the sample the researchers found that higher reports of missed sleep correlated with more frequent school absences, more limitations on activity, and lower quality of life. There were stronger associations between missed sleep and asthma morbidity for Latino children than for non-Latino white and African-American children. The associations between missed sleep and asthma morbidity were stronger for children with higher anxiety than for children with lower anxiety.

"The findings from this study suggest that missed sleep is an important factor to consider when examining asthma morbidity and child functioning," the authors write. "Clinically, health care professionals should be especially attuned to the effects of missed sleep and anxiety on asthma morbidity in Latino children because they are more susceptible to disruptions in daily functioning when experiencing disrupted sleep."