Study Objectives:

The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on sleep of participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was assessed.

Methods:

Parents of 111 children and adolescents with ASD filled out an anonymous online survey shared via social media, investigating the sleep patterns and disturbances before and during the lockdown.

Results:

The lockdown changed significantly the bedtime on weekdays in 57.8% of participants with ASD (56.9% delayed; 0.9% advanced) and the risetime in 69.2% (61.7% delayed and 7.5% advanced). Sleep duration varied on weekdays in 49.1% (24.1% increased; 25% decreased). During the lockdown, participants with ASD showed a significant increase of sleep disturbances, compared to the preceding period, especially falling asleep (35.1% vs. 22.5%), anxiety at bedtime (22.5% vs. 10.8%), sleep terrors (5.4% vs. 0%) and daytime sleepiness (14.4% vs. 3.6%)

Conclusions:

Lockdown affected sleep of patients with ASD showing an increase of difficulty in falling asleep, anxiety at bedtime, sleep terrors and daytime sleepiness. The outbreak for COVID-19 significantly worsened sleep disturbances of children with ASD.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 封锁对自闭症谱系障碍儿童睡眠的影响

学习目标：

评估了 COVID-19 爆发对自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 参与者睡眠的影响。

方法：

111 名患有 ASD 儿童和青少年的父母填写了一份通过社交媒体分享的匿名在线调查，调查封锁之前和期间的睡眠模式和障碍。

结果：

封锁显着改变了 57.8% 的 ASD 参与者（56.9% 延迟；0.9% 提前）的工作日就寝时间和 69.2% 的起床时间（61.7% 延迟和 7.5% 提前）。49.1% 的工作日睡眠时间有所不同（24.1% 增加；25% 减少）。在封锁期间，自闭症患者的睡眠障碍与前一时期相比显着增加，尤其是入睡（35.1% 对 22.5%）、睡前焦虑（22.5% 对 10.8%）、睡惊症（5.4%） vs. 0%）和白天嗜睡（14.4% vs. 3.6%）

结论：

封锁影响了 ASD 患者的睡眠，表现为入睡困难增加、睡前焦虑、睡惊症和白天嗜睡。COVID-19 的爆发显着恶化了自闭症儿童的睡眠障碍。