Comparative accuracy of sleep disturbance questionnaires in children with autism spectrum disorder: a receiver operating characteristic study - Summary - MDSpire
To investigate the comparative effectiveness of various sleep and wakefulness scales used in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Approach:
Study Design: Cross-sectional observational study.
Setting: Conducted at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Health Sciences Research and Training Hospital, Antalya, Türkiye.
Participants: 230 children, including 155 diagnosed with ASD and 75 typically developing peers, aged 4 to 18 years.
Outcome Measures: Sleep-wake disorders assessed using five questionnaires: CSHQ, ESS-CHAD, PDSS, PSQ, and SDSC.
Key Findings:
All questionnaires demonstrated discriminant validity and internal consistency (p0.60).
CSHQ and SDSC showed similar levels of diagnostic accuracy in detecting sleep disorders.
PSQ had a high positive predictive value, PDSS demonstrated a high negative predictive value, and ESS-CHAD showed a high level of agreement.
Interpretation:
A combination of tools such as CSHQ, ESS-CHAD, PDSS, PSQ, and SDSC may be useful for assessing sleep-wake disorders in children with ASD.
Limitations:
The study focused on a specific population in Turkey, which may limit generalizability.
The cross-sectional design does not allow for causal inferences.
Conclusion:
The findings support a tiered instrument-selection approach for standardizing sleep assessment in pediatric ASD care.
