Study Reveals Associations Between Serum GABA, DHA Levels, and Pediatric Sleep Disorders
A cross-sectional observational study investigated the relationship between serum levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and pediatric sleep disorders. The study, involving 95 children aged 36 to 192 months diagnosed with sleep disorders, found that younger children exhibited higher serum GABA and DHA levels. Specifically, children aged 36-59 months had significantly higher GABA levels compared to older age groups, and the youngest subgroup also showed higher DHA levels than all older patient subgroups. The research also indicated that children diagnosed with insomnia had significantly lower serum GABA levels compared to those with parasomnia. No significant differences were observed in GABA or DHA levels based on gender. The study utilized liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to quantify GABA and DHA concentrations from fasting venous blood samples. Diagnoses were based on the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Third Edition (ICSD-3), thr...
