Not A Minor Inconvenience: Sleep Disturbances In Children

By Author: supriyo banerjee
Total Articles: 739
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In a study of some eleven thousand children being monitored for over six years, it has been found that sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in young children leads to an increased frequency of developmental difficulties with behavior such as hyperactivity or aggressiveness as well as other emotional anomalies and a marked straining with peer relationships. The relatively new study, which has been published in an online journal, is comprised of analyses of the stacked effects of snoring, sleep apnea, and mouth breathing patterns of children enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a U.K. based project.

Participating parents were interviewed via questionnaires about the children's sleep disordered breathing symptoms at regular intervals, as they progressed from six months to 6 years of age. As the children approached four to seven years of age, their parents were asked to fill out the standard questionnaire used to asses and pinpoint possible behavioral difficulties known as the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The researchers had control groups for fifteen confounding ...
... variables that could potentially skew the results of the study due to unstudied factors. These included socio-economic status, smoking of the mother through the first trimester, and of course, low birth weight. Researchers found that those children diagnosed with sleep disordered breathing were anywhere from 40% to 100% more likely to develop behavioral problems by the age of seven when compared with children that did not have breathing problems during sleep. Furthermore, the study showed the largest increase to be in hyperactivity, although there were significant increases in all five of the behavioral aspects measured.

The conclusion that researchers reached was that SDB potentially caused behavioral problems due to the effect it has on the brain. By decreasing levels of O2, and increasing the levels of CO2 in the prefrontal cortex, sleep disordered breathing interrupts the rejuvenating properties of a good night’s sleep the same way it does in obstructive sleep apnea. Put plainly, it disrupts the delicate balances of cellular and chemical systems in the brain.

The use of sleep apnea machines known as CPAP has long been the standard treatment for sleep apnea, a condition traditionally studied and diagnosed in adulthood. What researchers are finding is that sleep disordered breathing in children has similar effects, and bears a stark resemblance to the symptomology of the two types of sleep apnea diagnosed in adults. Use of a CPAP machine with the appropriate CPAP mask, such as ResMed’s Mirage Kidsta™ Mask, which has been specifically designed for pediatric patients aged seven years and older would reflect drastic results, and nearly immediate alleviation of the behavioral symptoms. The Kidsta is the first FDA approved system in the U.S. for treating children diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), or another respiratory insufficiency such as sleep disordered breathing (SDB). This particular CPAP mask combines the cushion technology the Mirage is known for with comfort, performance, and child friendly features.

K. Leeds is a freelance writer for The CPAP Shop, one of the leading providers of CPAP machine. Please visit The CPAP Shop website to learn more about their CPAP Supplies and brands.