Emphasis on continuous infant sleep overnight may be driven by parental concern of risk to child mental health outcomes. The Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional Wellbeing Study (MPEWS) examined whether infant sleep at 6 and 12 months postpartum predicts anxiety disorders at 2–4 years, and whether this is moderated by maternal depression, active physical comforting (APC) or maternal cognitions about infant sleep. Data included 349 women and infants. Infant sleep was measured using the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire and child anxiety disorders by the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. The risk of developing generalised anxiety or social phobia disorders at 3–4 years was reduced by 42% (p = 0.001) and 31% (p = 0.001), respectively, for a one standard deviation increase in total sleep at 12 months. No other infant sleep outcomes were associated. Maternal depression, APC and cognitions about infant sleep did not significantly moderate these relationships. Focus may need to be on total infant sleep, rather than when sleep is achieved.Highlights To assess whether infant sleep outcomes (i.e., frequency of nocturnal wakes; nocturnal wakefulness and total sleep per day) at 6 and 12 months predict early childhood anxiety disorders at 3–4 years of age. Maternally reported infant sleep outcomes were not associated with the risk of developing early childhood anxiety disorders at 3–4 years. It may be total infant sleep, irrespective of when sleep occurs or night waking and, independently, active physical comforting that requires further investigation.

中文翻译：

---

婴儿睡眠和幼儿期焦虑症：澳大利亚妊娠队列研究的结果

强调婴儿整夜持续睡眠可能是出于父母对儿童心理健康风险的担忧。Mercy 怀孕和情绪健康研究 (MPEWS) 检查了产后 6 个月和 12 个月的婴儿睡眠是否可以预测 2-4 岁时的焦虑症，以及母亲抑郁、主动身体安慰 (APC) 或母亲对婴儿睡眠的认知是否可以调节这种焦虑症。数据包括 349 名妇女和婴儿。婴儿睡眠使用简短婴儿睡眠问卷进行测量，儿童焦虑症则使用学龄前精神评估进行测量。3-4 岁时患广泛性焦虑症或社交恐惧症的风险降低了 42%（p= 0.001) 和 31% (p= 0.001)，分别表示 12 个月时总睡眠时间增加 1 个标准差。没有其他婴儿睡眠结果相关。母亲抑郁、APC 和对婴儿睡眠的认知并没有显着调节这些关系。重点可能需要放在婴儿的总睡眠上，而不是何时达到睡眠。亮点 旨在评估 6 个月和 12 个月时的婴儿睡眠结果（即夜间醒来的频率、夜间觉醒和每天的总睡眠时间）是否可以预测 3-4 岁时的儿童早期焦虑症。 母亲报告的婴儿睡眠结果与 3-4 岁时患早期儿童焦虑症的风险无关。 这可能是婴儿的完全睡眠，无论何时睡眠或夜间醒来，以及独立的主动身体安慰，需要进一步研究。