Incidence and Remission of Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Related Symptoms in 6- to 17-Year Old Children—The Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea Study

ObjectiveTo determine the incidence and remission of sleep-disordered breathing in adolescent children.Study designA total of 319 children completed 2 home polysomnograms approximately 5 years apart. Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) was determined to be present if a child had a respiratory disturbance index ≥ 1 event per hour associated with ≥3% oxygen desaturation. Subjective symptoms such as witnessed apnea, excessive daytime sleepiness, difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep, and habitual loud snoring were considered present if they occurred frequently or almost always. Body mass index percentiles were calculated with childhood growth charts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adjusted for sex and age.ResultsThe mean age at assessment was 8.5 years at baseline and 13.7 years at follow-up, respectively. Incident SDB was more common in boys (odds ratio [OR] = 3.93, P = .008, confidence interval [CI] = 1.41-10.90). Children with prevalent SDB were more likely to be boys (OR = 2.48, P = .006) and had a greater increase in body mass index percentile change (OR 1.01, P = .034). Children with prevalent SDB also had 3.41 greater odds for development of obesity from baseline to follow-up in comparison with children with prevalent NoSDB.ConclusionsAdolescent boys are more likely to have persistent and incident SDB than girls. Children with prevalent SDB are more likely to have development of obesity. These risks are similar to those observed in adults.