Prenatal cannabis exposure and sleep outcomes in children 9-10 years of age in the adolescent brain cognitive development SM study.

OBJECTIVES

Analyze the associations between prenatal cannabis exposure and child sleep outcomes.

METHODS

Data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD Study®) was used to determine whether maternal reports of prenatal cannabis use were associated with child sleep outcomes among 11,875 children ages 9-10 controlling for covariates including prenatal substance exposure, mother's education, combined household income, parental marital status, race, child sex, and child age.

RESULTS

Endorsement of any prenatal cannabis use was associated with symptoms of disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep, disorders of arousal, sleep wake disorders, disorders of excessive somnolence, and a summed sleep disorder score (all β > 0.10 and p < 0.03) while frequency of prenatal daily cannabis use was significantly associated with disorders of excessive somnolence (β = 0.29, p = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

Although causality is not established, the results suggest potential long-term effects of prenatal cannabis exposure on sleep and the prudence of abstinence from cannabis use while pregnant.