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6. Prof. Dr. Hıfzı Özcan Uluslararası Cerebral Palsy ve Gelişimsel Bozukluklar Kongresi, İstanbul, Turkey, 26 - 27 February 2016, (Full Text)
The Effects of Having A Child With Severe Cerebral Palsy On Primary Caregivers’ Sleep And Mood
INTRODUCTION:
Having a child with cerebral palsy may cause depression and impair the sleep quality in primary caregivers. The aim of this study was to evaluate sleep quality in primary caregivers of children with cerebral palsy and its correlation with children’s functional levels.
METHODS:
Study group consisted of 20 children with cerebral palsy (mean age: 10.05±4.9 years, range: 4-18 years, mean body mass index: 23.96±7.6 kg/m², 11 girls) and their primary caregivers (mean age: 39.3±7.0 years, range: 26-50 years, 20 women). The sleep quality and mood of primary caregivers were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). To evaluate children’s functional levels the Gross Motor Functional Classification System (GMFCS) and Functional Independence Measure (WeeFIM) were used.
To assess the distribution’s normality we used Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test. Correlations were studied using Spearman’s rho coefficients.
RESULTS:
Included children’s GMFCS levels were mostly high grade (12 cases; grade 5, 3 cases; grade 4, 5 cases grade 3). All of the primary caregivers were mothers. There was a significant correlation between BDI and total PSQI scores of primary caregivers(r=0.53, p=0.01). 13 mothers reported sleep disturbance symptoms and 54% of them (7 cases) had insomnia on PSQI scale. However total PSQI and BDI scores of the mothers wasn’t correlated with functional levels of the children (respectively r= 0.16, p=0.478; r=0.28, p=0,244). 90% of mothers had at least seven hours of sleep for one day (9.4±1.7 hours; range 5-12 hours).
CONCLUSION:
Having a children with CP negatively impacts caregiver's sleep and moods. Functional levels of all included children were serious (≥grade 3). It may affect the correlations between scores. PSQI doesn’t assess sleep duration which is longer than 7 hours. But it may indicate sleep disturbances. Consequently, primary caregivers need to be assessed for the requirement of support regarding sleep quality and depression status.