Relationship between parent-reported gastrointestinal symptoms, sleep problems, autism spectrum disorder symptoms, and behavior problems in children and adolescents with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.
In 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, parent-reported gut pain and poor sleep go hand-in-hand with self-injury and stereotypy.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Parents of children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome filled out rating scales. They scored tummy pain, reflux, and sleep habits. They also scored self-injury, hand-flapping, and hitting. The team looked for links between the body problems and the behavior problems.
What they found
Kids with more GI pain or worse sleep showed more self-biting, rocking, and tantrums. The links were moderate for GI and sleep together. The links were small for each problem alone.
How this fits with other research
Uljarević et al. (2020) studied the same syndrome but blamed anxiety and poor cognitive control for repetitive acts. Leader et al. (2020) blame gut and sleep pain. Both can be true: body pain and worried thoughts may feed the same behaviors.
O'Reilly et al. (2000) watched one child lose sleep for nights. Escape-based self-biting rose sharply. The new survey echoes that single-case clue across many kids.
Leader et al. (2023) moved the question to adults. Sleep trouble still rode along with low daily-living skills. The youth GI link has not yet been checked in grown-ups.
Why it matters
If a client with 22q11DS suddenly increases head-banging, do not jump to new teaching plans. First ask parents about constipation, reflux, and bedtime. A simple stool softener, reflux pillow, or melatonin trial may drop problem behavior faster than extra practice trials. Track nights and bowel patterns right on your behavior graph. You might see the aggression line fall as the tummy and sleep lines improve.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q) is a chromosome disorder, where a segment of chromosome 22, located at q11.2, is missing. This study aims to investigate the relationship between a number of parent-reported comorbid conditions including gastrointestinal symptoms, sleep problems, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms and behavior problems in children and adolescents with 22q deletion syndrome. METHOD: The Gastrointestinal Symptom Inventory, Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, Behavior Problem Inventory-Short Form and the Social Communication Questionnaire were completed by parents of 149 children and adolescents aged 3-18 years with a diagnosis of 22q. RESULTS: A series of correlations and hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted to examine the relationships between GI symptoms, sleep problems and behavior problems in children and adolescents with 22q deletion syndrome. A significant moderate relationship was found between GI symptoms and sleep problems. Gender and ASD symptoms predicted GI symptoms. Significant small relationships were found between GI symptoms and self-injurious behavior. Significant small to moderate relationships were found between sleep problems and self-injurious behavior, aggressive/destructive behavior, and sterotyped behavior. Sleep problems predicted challenging behavior. CONCLUSIONS: This research demonstrated the importance of studying the relationship between comorbidities, including gastrointestinal symptoms, sleep problems, and behavior problems and how they shape the phenotype of 22q deletion syndrome.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2020 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103698