Abstract
Objective
The study aimed to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status and other demographic factors and sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Methods
This cross-sectional retrospective study examined data from 4636 children with ASD enrolled in the Autism Treatment Network Registry from 2008-2013. Caregivers completed the Child Sleep Health Questionnaire (CSHQ) and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-2. Primary caregiver education was used as a proxy for socioeconomic status. As appropriate, two-sided t-tests (ANOVA) and chi-square tests were used to assess differences in the distribution of socioeconomic status, demographic, and Vineland behavioral variables between children with (CSHQ>=41) and without sleep problems. Multiple linear regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between sleep problems (CSHQ score) and socioeconomic status accounting for other variables.
Results
Results from multiple linear regression indicate that after adjusting for age, gender, race, ethnicity, autism diagnosis, IQ, and Vineland behavioral scores, lower primary caregiver education level (socioeconomic status) was significantly associated with more sleep problems (higher CSHQ scores) (High School: beta=-0.001 (0.95), Some College: beta=-0.06, Bachelor’s Degree: beta=-0.12, Post-graduate Degree: beta=-0.11; p<0.0001).
Conclusion
Lower socioeconomic status, represented by parental education level, is associated with more sleep problems. The assessment of socioeconomic status may be an important component of sleep evaluation in children with ASD to help improve their care.
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