Cross-sectional Study of Sleep Disturbance in Hong Kong Children With Cancer Comparing With Healthy Counterparts and Children With Other Chronic Diseases

Launched by CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG · Aug 8, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This study is looking at how common and how severe sleep problems are in children with cancer, and how these sleep issues compare to those in healthy children and children with other long-term illnesses. The researchers want to understand the unique challenges that children with cancer face when it comes to sleep, especially during their treatment in the hospital. By learning more about these sleep difficulties, the study hopes to help develop better ways to support children with cancer and improve their overall well-being.

Children aged 6 to 18 who are Chinese and currently in the hospital may be eligible to join. The study includes three groups: children with cancer who are receiving treatment like chemotherapy or radiation; children with other chronic illnesses such as asthma or diabetes; and healthy children without any long-term health problems, often siblings of patients or children of hospital staff. Participants and their parents will be asked about sleep habits and patterns through questionnaires. The study will not include children with severe cognitive difficulties, neurological conditions affecting sleep, or those taking certain sedative medicines, to make sure the sleep issues studied are related to their health condition. If your child joins, you can expect to answer questions about their sleep during their hospital stay, helping doctors better understand and support children facing these challenges.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Children with Cancer (n=50) Participants in this group will be children with a confirmed cancer diagnosis, such as leukemia, lymphoma, or solid tumors, who are currently hospitalized for treatment at the inpatient oncology wards of Hong Kong Children's Hospital. Eligible participants must be actively receiving cancer-directed therapy (e.g., chemotherapy, radiation) during their hospital stay. Inclusion criteria require that participants, or their parents or legal guardians as proxies, can provide accurate reports about sleep patterns, either through self-assessment or observation, ensuring reliable data collection. This group will capture the acute impact of cancer treatment and hospitalization on sleep, a critical focus of the study.
• • 2. Children with Other Chronic Illnesses (n=50) This group will comprise children diagnosed with chronic conditions other than cancer, such as asthma, type 1 diabetes, or chronic kidney disease, recruited from the cardiac, nephrology, and mixed wards of Hong Kong Children's Hospital. These illnesses are selected for their known potential to disrupt sleep-e.g., nocturnal asthma symptoms or glucose instability-while differing in pathophysiology from cancer. Participants must be under active management for their condition and currently hospitalized, but must not have a history of primary sleep disorders (e.g., narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea) unrelated to their chronic illness. This criterion ensures that observed sleep disturbances are attributable to the chronic condition rather than pre-existing sleep pathology.
• • 3. Healthy Children (n=50) The healthy control group will be of adequate sample size. These include siblings of pediatric patients (both oncology and non-oncology wards), and children of hospital staff (e.g., nurses, administrative personnel). Inclusion criteria require no history of chronic illness, psychiatric disorders, or known sleep conditions. Parental consent and child assent will be obtained for all participants.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Across all three groups, children will be excluded if they are not Chinese and are in intensive care units. Children who exhibit severe cognitive impairments that preclude accurate reporting of sleep experiences, either by themselves or their parents or legal guardians, will be excluded. Additionally, participants with neurological conditions known to independently affect sleep, such as epilepsy or cerebral palsy, will be excluded to avoid confounding the primary relationship between chronic illness and sleep disturbances. The use of sedative medications unrelated to the participant's primary condition (e.g., for behavioral management rather than cancer treatment) will also disqualify participants, as these could artificially alter sleep patterns and obscure study outcomes. These exclusion criteria ensure that sleep disturbances observed are primarily linked to the participants' health status rather than extraneous factors.