Kids with Sleep-Related Breathing Troubles Suffer from Sleep Disorders

Scientists at the Albert Einstein college of Medicine have been conducting research on children withbreathing problems related to sleep.

In this direction they have found that most children suffering from such disorders also have behavioral problems in sleep.

This finding has been published in the latest edition of Behavioral sleep medicine, a journal dedicated to such conditions.

Kids with Sleep-Related Breathing Troubles

Study on Children with Sleep Problems

The study focused on the relationship between and concurrence of sleep-related behavioral disorders with that of breathing problems. The research analyzed 11,000 children in the age group of 18 months to 5 years who were a part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, UK.

Questionnaires were carefully drafted and mailed to the respondents of the program. Parents reported sleep disorders such as snoring or sleep apnea and their occurrence at various times of the childhood at 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 years of age.

The parents were also required to answer if during these intervals the child fussed over bedtime, reported nightmares or frequent disturbances in sleep and any such related conditions. These reports were then correlated and the following conclusions regarding SDB were arrived at:

  1. Between the ages of 1.5 to 5 years, SDB occurred in 15 to 27% of the respondents and the problem peaked at 2.5 years.
  2. Among those with sleep problems 26 to 37% also had habitual SDB which also peaked at 2.5 years
  3. Among those with habitual SDB 25 to 37% also had sleep problems.
  4. All these responses were found to peak at 30 months or 2.5 years of age.

The conclusion of this study is that any sleep problem is directly or indirectly has behavioral implications on the child which affects cognition and academic development as well. The underlying conditions need to be treated to solve the behavioral problems.

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