To sleep or not to sleep: a systematic review of the literature of pharmacological treatments of insomnia in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments, including melatonin, for improving sleep in patients with ADHD.
Results Summary
Melatonin exhibited a positive response, reducing sleep latency, increasing total sleep time, and improving sleep efficiency in ADHD patients. No adverse effects or dropouts were reported for melatonin in the study.
Population
Patients with ADHD-related sleep disorders.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zolpidem | decrease | sleep latency | ADHD patients | poor response | displayed a poor response in reducing | #1 |
Zolpidem | increase | total sleep time | ADHD patients | poor response | displayed a poor response in increasing | #2 |
L-theanine | decrease | sleep latency | ADHD patients | poor response | displayed a poor response in reducing | #3 |
L-theanine | increase | total sleep time | ADHD patients | poor response | displayed a poor response in increasing | #4 |
L-theanine | increase | sleep efficiency | ADHD patients | - | did produce an increase in | #5 |
Zolpidem | increase | side effects | ADHD patients | high levels | produced high levels of | #6 |
Zolpidem | increase | dropout rate | ADHD patients | largest | leading to the largest | #7 |
Clonidine | decrease | insomnia | ADHD patients | - | reduced | #8 |
Melatonin | decrease | sleep latency | ADHD patients | - | exhibited a positive response, with reduced | #9 |
Melatonin | increase | total sleep time | ADHD patients | - | exhibited a positive response, with higher | #10 |
Melatonin | increase | sleep efficiency | ADHD patients | - | exhibited a positive response, with higher | #11 |
OBJECTIVE: This systematic review assessed current evidence on sleep medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients, to establish appropriate guidance for clinicians faced with prescribing such medications. METHODS: Five articles (based on four pharmacological compounds) out of a total 337 were identified as evidence to guide pharmacological treatment of ADHD-related sleep disorders. Data regarding participant characteristics, measures of ADHD diagnosis, measures of sleep, and outcome data were extracted. RESULTS: Zolpidem and L-theanine both displayed a poor response in reducing sleep latency and increasing total sleep time, however L-theanine did produce an increase in sleep efficiency. Zolpidem produced high levels of side effects, leading to the largest dropout rate of all five studies. Clonidine reduced insomnia; and melatonin also exhibited a positive response, with reduced sleep latency, higher total sleep time, and higher sleep efficiency. CONCLUSIONS: There is a relative paucity of evidence for the pharmacological treatment of ADHD-related sleep disorders; therefore, further research should be conducted to replicate these findings and obtain reliable results.