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Abstract In the past two decades Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder became one of the most recognized disorders. ADHD is a mental disorder of the neurodevelopmental type. ADHD is a disorder of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity that affects 8-12% of children worldwide. Although the rate of ADHD falls with age, about 30–50% of people diagnosed in childhood continue to have symptoms into adulthood. Twin, adoption, and molecular genetic studies show ADHD to be highly heritable, and other findings have recorded obstetric complications and psychosocial adversity as predisposing risk factors. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated the high prevalence of sleep complaints in children with ADHD. As much as 70% of parents of ADHD patients reports sleeping difficulties (Virring et al., 2016), In addition, clear evidence from experimental laboratory–based studies and clinical observations indicates that insufficient and poor-quality sleep result in daytime sleepiness and behavioral/mood dysregulation and impact upon neurocognitive functions in children. sleep difficulties in children with ADHD have a potentially direct negative impact on the nature and severity of daytime ADHD symptoms. In light of this evidence, the research team was motivated to investigate the rate of sleep problems in a sample of Egyptian children with ADHD, and to study its correlation with symptoms profile and severity of ADHD and to assess sleep related breathing disorder. Our study is a cross sectional analytical study in which 110 cases of ADHD clinically diagnosed by DSM-5 were collected from the children clinic in Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University, the children’s age was from 6:10, these children were categorized according to Conner’s parenting scale, IQ testing by Wechsler Intelligence Scale was done, any children with IQ less than 70 was excluded, after meeting the criteria to be enrolled for this study screening for any sleep problem by PSQ and SRBD scale was done, When SRBD scale indicates that a primary sleep disorder might be present, evaluation in a sleep laboratory equipped with Polysomnogram (PSG) for diagnosis and confirmation. The findings indicate that nearly half of the study group children are reported to have sleep problems, (68%) of them proved to have sleep problem by Polysomnogram (PSG). It was found that decreased sleep continuity is the most common sleep problem found in this study group then decreased sleep efficiency, Obstructive sleep apnea, periodic limb movement and lastly REM sleep disorder. In our study there was no sex difference in relation to sleep problems, it is reported more to have sleep problem in younger age. We have found that children reported to be at risk to have sleep problem are more likely to have severe ADHD. Obesity in children is a very important parameter to take care about as it is highly related with severity of ADHD and these children are at a higher risk to have sleep related breathing disorder. There is a positive correlation between SRBD score and (IQ, ADHD index of Conner’s parenting scale and ADHD severity by PSQ). In the light of these evidence our team recommend that when managing a case of ADHD its needed to give great attention to and regularly assess for sleep problems as they may mimic the symptoms of ADHD, in others they may affect the severity of ADHD and their response to treatment. We also recommend further investigation of the dynamic relation between ADHD and sleep disturbances on large number of cases that should be gathered randomly, from primary, secondary and tertiary health care centers, that makes collected data more representative. Finally, we recommend increasing awareness of psychiatrists and all mental health workers regarding the importance of managing sleep problems in improving the care delivered to children with ADHD. |