Sleep Bruxism, Pharmacotherapy, Sleep Aspects and Screen Use in Children and Adolescents With Down Syndrome: A Cluster Analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Bruxism is frequent in individuals with Down syndrome (DS), and there is a need to identify patient profiles to develop treatment plans that meet their specific needs. METHODS: Cluster analysis was applied on clinical, dentofacial, sleep, pharmacotherapy, and screen use cross-sectional data from 101 children/adolescents with DS (5-18 years). RESULTS: Cardiopathy and thyroid dysfunction were the most frequent health conditions. Centrally acting medications use increased with increasing age. Proxy-reported and clinically based sleep bruxism (SB) was found in 5% of children and 46% of adolescents. Three clusters were generated: 'children without SB', 'children/adolescents with lower frequency of SB', and 'adolescents with high frequency of SB'. SB, age, reflux, antidepressant use, snoring, sleep time, and smartphone/tablet use contributed most to cluster classification. CONCLUSION: The group of adolescents with high frequency of SB was characterized by antidepressant use, snoring, reflux, shorter sleep, and longer screen usage time.