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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.

Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology
December 1, 2013
Jessica R Barrett et al. (3 authors)
Journal ArticleReviewSystematic ReviewHuman Study
Study Details

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

Extracted Claims (11)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
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
Abstract

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.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
AdolescentAttention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityChildClonidineGlutamatesHumansPyridinesSleep Initiation and Maintenance DisordersZolpidem
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy85/10
Quality70/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations27
Citations/Year2.3
Relative Citation Ratio1.12
NIH Percentile54.3%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.75
Weight Score1.44
Normalized Score0.68
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To sleep or not to sleep: a systematic review of the literat... | Panacea Index