Study: Childhood sleep issues may raise suicide risk

(CNN) - If your child has trouble sleeping, ignoring it could lead to severe consequences according to a study published Monday in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.

Children with sleep issues were found to have a higher risk for suicide when they were older.

The study authors looked at data from 8,800 children in an adolescent brain cognitive development study.

The children were between 9 and 10 years old at the time, and they came from various parts of the United States.

While most did not report suicidal thoughts or attempts two years later, severe sleep disturbances were linked among those who did.

Nearly one in three with severe sleep disturbance later reported some level of suicidal behavior.

The odds remained the same after the authors accounted for other factors that increase suicidal risk like anxiety, depression and family conflict.

According to the study, suicide is a leading cause of death among children 10 to 14 years old.

That group also has high rates of sleep disturbance.

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