Sleep and Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms in Adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The current study assessed the associations between sleep and psychosocial symptoms in 157 Finnish adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Sleep trouble was self-rated in Sleep Self-Report (SSR) and in Youth Self-Report (YSR). Psychosocial symptoms of the adolescents were assessed by the YSR and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Patients reporting sleep trouble had significantly more psychosocial symptoms than their counterparts without sleep trouble. This was shown in the CBCL and YSR scales of total problems (P < 0.01), anxious/depressed mood (P < 0.05), and aggressive behavior (P < 0.01). Additionally, SSR sleep problem subscale scores indicating lower sleep quality (bedtime, sleep behavior) associated significantly with attention problems (P < 0.05). These results point out that sleep trouble should be recognized and treated in adolescents with IBD to possibly avoid the emerging of psychosocial symptoms.