Investigation of the relationship between SLEEP habits and leptin-ghrelin serum levels in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder in childhood, and sleep problems are frequently encountered as a comorbid condition. However, it is known that some hormones are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and sleep. In this study, it is aimed to examine the relationship between sleep habits and leptin-ghrelin serum levels in children with ADHD. Forty-five patients aged 6-12 years, who were diagnosed with ADHD and had no additional psychiatric disease, and 45 age- and sex-matched healthy controls without any chronic physical or psychiatric disease were included in the study. Sociodemographic Data Form, Turgay DSM-IV-Based Disruptive Behavioral Disorders Screening and Rating Scale, Childhood Chronotype Questionnaire, Child Sleeping Habits Questionnaire were given to parents for all participants. Leptin and ghrelin serum levels were measured from blood samples taken from all participants between 08.30 and 10.00 in the morning after 8 hours of fasting. In the results of the study, the presence of sleep problems was found to be statistically significantly higher in the ADHD group. When ADHD and control groups were compared, it was found that evening chronotype was more common in the ADHD group. Leptin serum levels were higher and ghrelin serum levels were lower in the ADHD group compared to the control group. In addition, there was no significant difference in serum levels of leptin ghrelin in ADHD patients with sleep problems when compared with those without sleep problems. While there was a positive correlation between leptin and delayed falling asleep and sleep disturbance subscale scores, no correlation was found between ghrelin serum levels and sleep problems subtypes. However, the presence of sleep problems and serum ghrelin levels were found to be independent risk factors for ADHD. The presence of ADHD was found to be an independent risk factor for sleep problems. In the ROC curve analysis, it was determined that ghrelin serum levels could be used as a diagnostic marker for ADHD. Keywords: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, chronotype, sleep problem, leptin, ghrelin