Cross-sectional study reveals higher rates of sleep bruxism and caregiver psychological distress in children with autism spectrum disorder, highlighting links to sleep regulation issues.
Key Points
To evaluate the prevalence of sleep and awake bruxism in children with autism spectrum disorder and assess their links to sleep parameters and caregiver mental health.
Cross-sectional study of 146 participants aged 4–18 years, comprising 73 children with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and 73 neurotypical controls.
Data gathered through clinical oral examinations of children and caregiver questionnaires, including the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) and Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21).
Clinically diagnosed sleep bruxism occurred more frequently in children with autism spectrum disorder, whereas awake bruxism predominated among neurotypical children.
Caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder reported significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression than controls (p < 0.05).
Higher frequencies of sleep bruxism were observed in children with autism spectrum disorder who had sleep-onset and maintenance difficulties, though associations did not remain significant after Bonferroni correction.