Misalignment of Sleep-Wake Circadian Rhythm Formation in Infant/Early Childhood is a Risk Factor of Future Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Abstract

We investigated the possibility that abnormal sleep-wake rhythms in infant/young children are related to future ASD development. In a retrospective analysis, we used questionnaires to assess the parent(s) of 342 children with ASD in two hospitals, and 203 children in four nurseries as controls.

According to the results, the following factors were associated with an increased risk of developing ASD in the future: 1) short sleep (<8 hours), 2) sleep onset time after 22:00, 3) waking time after 08:00 and/or 09:00, on weekdays and holidays, respectively, 4) frequent awakening (>3 times) and 5) long time awakening (>60min).

Misalignment of sleep-wake circadian rhythm formation in infancy/early childhood may be risk factor of future development of ASD. As a prophylactic therapy for future ASD, sleep/awake rhythms should be corrected, before the circadian rhythm is completely formed and fixed, before 2 years of age.

Note:
Funding Information: This study has been supported by the Grant-in Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas “Constructive Developmental Science” (No.24119004) from The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.

Declaration of Interests: None to declare.

Ethics Approval Statement: This study complied with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of C-Hospital. All parents of the children gave their written informed consent before participating in the study. All analyses were conducted in accordance with the Ethical Guidelines for Epidemiological Research.

Keywords: ASD, infant/young children, Circadian rhythm formation, Sleep Disorders, prophylactic therapy, Melatonin