For children with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE), sleep fragmentation is negatively associated with physical and social quality of life, with N2 stage moderating the deleterious effects of fragmentation, according to a study published online May 13 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Leticia Soster, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of São Paulo in Brazil, and colleagues examined the relationship between polysomnography-derived sleep parameters and quality of life in 44 children with MNE, aged 8 to 12 years. The participants underwent polysomnography and completed a quality-of-life questionnaire (PedsQL). The role of sleep variables was assessed in predicting four PedsQL domains.

The researchers found that lower scores in the physical and social domains were predicted by a higher frequency of microarousals (B = −3.28 and −3.50, respectively). There were associations for a higher N2 sleep percentage with better social and school functioning (B = 0.69 and 0.88, respectively). N2 sleep amplified the negative impact of arousals on the social domain in a moderation analysis, especially when the N2 sleep percentage was one standard deviation above the mean (B = −4.31).

“The present results highlight the need for therapeutic approaches aimed not only at expanding the restorative stages of sleep but also at their continuous preservation in order to promote overall health and daytime functioning,” the authors write.

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