Sleep‐disordered breathing in 3,680 Greek children

Abstract

The goal of the present investigation was to describe the prevalence of and clinical factors associated with sleep‐disordered breathing in children and adolescents. Children and adolescents (3,680 in all, 1–18 years old) attending schools in central Greece were surveyed by questionnaires distributed to parents. We found a similar prevalence of habitual snoring (present every night) among three different age groups (5.3%, 4%, and 3.8% in 1–6‐, 7–12‐, and 13–18‐year‐old subjects, P = NS). Several children with an adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy were snoring every night (6.1%), whereas sleepiness at school was more common in habitual snorers than in nonhabitual snorers (4.6 vs. 2%, P = 0.03). Seventy randomly selected subjects among 307 snorers without adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy underwent polysomnography. The estimated frequency of obstructive sleep apnea‐hypopnea among children without adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy was 4.3%. Factors associated with snoring were: male gender (odds ratio 1.5 (confidence interval, 1.2–1.9)); chronic rhinitis (2.1 (1.6–2.7)); snoring in father (1.5 (1.2–1.9)), mother (1.5 (1.1–2.0)), or siblings (1.7 (1.2–2.4)); adenoidectomy in mother (1.5 (1.0–2.2)); and passive smoking (1.4 (1.1–1.8)). In conclusion, snoring every night was equally prevalent in younger and older ages, more frequent in males, and present even in some children with a history of adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy. Chronic rhinitis, family history of snoring, and exposure to cigarette smoke were associated with an increased frequency of habitual snoring. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2004; 37:499–509.