Press Release

Children with frequent loud snoring, learning problems, or excessive daytime sleepiness are more likely to have sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), according to a study published in the July 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine .

Results of the study show those children who either display frequent, loud snoring or who have a parental report of learning problems are three times more likely to have SDB, while children with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) are twice as likely to have sleep-disordered breathing. This association is even stronger when habitual snoring is present along with either EDS or learning problems.

Behavioral and neurocognitive abnormalities occur more commonly in children with SDB than in those without it, according to background information in the article. Many children with SDB, a classification that includes obstructive sleep apnea, report to their physicians that they snore.

Substantial research has not previously been presented, however, to define clear pediatric standards of clinical signs and symptoms of SDB.

James L. Goodwin, Ph.D., of the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and colleagues, set out to determine the usefulness of measures that could be easily obtained during an outpatient clinical visit as predictors of SDB in elementary school children.

“In this study, we have provided evidence from a general population of…Hispanic and Caucasian elementary school children about risk factors for SDB to enhance decision making in the clinic on whether or not to refer a child for polysomnography,” the authors write.

The study also shows that boys are slightly more likely than girls to have SDB, and both sleepwalking and sleep talking are associated with SDB in children. Results further indicate, however, that neither obesity nor an estimation of airway size is a predictive pediatric factor.

The Tucson Children’s Assessment of Sleep Apnea (TuCASA) study involved 480 children between the ages of six and 11 years who underwent one night of unattended home polysomnography. The study group was 42.3% Hispanic and consisted of an equal number of boys and girls.

Other data were drawn from a neurocognitive assessment and a pediatric sleep habits questionnaire that was completed by a parent.

The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine is an official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.