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Theme Issue on Sleep
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(7):649.
Sleep is essential for good health. Sleep problems are one of the most common issues for which parents seek advice from their pediatricians. These sleep problems are developmentally linked, ranging from difficulty putting infants and toddlers to bed, to night terrors and other parasomnias in preschool- and young school-aged children, to inadequate sleep among adolescents. Sleep problems can affect all children, although certain groups of children are especially at risk. These include infants at risk of sudden infant death syndrome, children with obesity or certain inherited disorders who are at risk for sleep-disordered breathing, children receiving medications (whether they be stimulants or other drugs), children with neurologic disorders or developmental delay, and children with chronic illness both in and out of the hospital. The consequences of sleep disorders can be broad and substantial and include academic, emotional, physical and psychological effects, as well as effects on the parents and family.
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine will devote its April 2008 issue to a special theme issue on sleep. We are seeking papers that apply rigorous science to the many aspects of sleep medicine as it applies to children and adolescents. These include descriptive studies of sleep; the etiology and physiology of sleep and sleep problems in children and adolescents; screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders; prevention of sleep problems in children and adolescents; and the effect of sleep problems on other aspects of children's and families' lives.
Studies that are of interest are clinical trials, especially randomized controlled trials; observational studies, especially longitudinal cohort studies and case-control designs; population-based epidemiological studies; systematic reviews and meta-analyses summarizing the literature on an important topic that may lack clarity; and laboratory investigations that are relevant to clinicians. We seek papers that examine sleep and sleep problems in the general population of children and adolescents as well as those that focus on important subgroups of patients in whom diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of sleep disorders are especially relevant.
To have the best chance of being included in this special theme issue, authors should submit manuscripts by September 1, 2007. Guidelines on preparation of manuscripts and submission can be found at www.archpediatrics.com.
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