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25% of Children in U.S. With Sleep Apnea
Dr. Park hypothesizes that 25% of U.S. Children Have Sleep Apnea:
Views: 183
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steven Y. Park, MD on
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Not necessarily formal obstructive sleep apnea, but sleep-breathing problems in general that deprives the child of quality deep sleep. About 1/4 of middle aged men are found to have sleep apnea, so why not in children as well? Ultimately, the diagnosis really depends on the definition of sleep apnea and how it's applied in sleep studies. Unfortunately, we don't really know what the bare minimum for apneas are for growing children—not to mention breathing pauses that don't get counted as apneas.
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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on
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It's predicted that 60% of all kids with Dx ADD/ADHD have undiagnosed sleep problems. If this same formula could be applied to other pediatric problems I believe 25% to be a relatively low prediction.
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Dr. Park,
Could you explain what you mean by bare minimum apneas and breathing pauses that don't get counted as apneas? The research that I have read has been very specific on pediatric sleep. Any pause, or attenuation in breathing effort/flow that last at least 2 breaths is an event, and any average above 1 is unhealthy in pediatric sleep studies. Have you heard or read something different?
I can understand how respiratory inconsistencies could be overlooked in pediatrics. They are much more subtle compared to SBDs in adults. When dealing with pediatric sleep it is very important to seek out a physician, tech, and/or lab that specializes in these studies.
Steven Y. Park, MD said:Not necessarily formal obstructive sleep apnea, but sleep-breathing problems in general that deprives the child of quality deep sleep. About 1/4 of middle aged men are found to have sleep apnea, so why not in children as well? Ultimately, the diagnosis really depends on the definition of sleep apnea and how it's applied in sleep studies. Unfortunately, we don't really know what the bare minimum for apneas are for growing children—not to mention breathing pauses that don't get counted as apneas.
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Take your pick
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=pediatric%20sleep%20disorders
Buddy Sysol said:Are there any actual status to support the hypotheszy?
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What do you mean "new". Obesity is fast becoming a world wide epidemic. ;)
Weight is a big issue with sleep problems. We have to remember that it is not the only issue.
Mike C (at the Beach!) said:Anything to do with the new FAT America??????
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Permalink Reply by Chris H on
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If its not being looked for its not being diagnosed. I was at a family gathering and a fellow was remarking that his wife snored so loud he used ear plugs.......no big thing right? ....She is an Autolaringoligist (or sumthing like that) a supposed expert ......What are they teaching ? Her parents
Had heart and diabetic issues....with that history wouldnt you think alarm would be sounding????? Nope when I sugested a sleep study I just got a huff and snort. Its still looked at as no big thing. Oh well,Chris
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Chris, You are not wrong in your assessment. Our fat society is a huge problem. There are many adults and children whom have no control over their health for reasons such as undiagnosed apnea. There are also just as many people whom control their own fate by making bad lifestyle decisions. These same people are not only their own worst nightmare, but their kid's as well.
Many people look for excuses for being overwieght(myself included). For some of us there is no excuse.
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Permalink Reply by Dawn on
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Are there any studies looking into if SIDS could be caused by sleep apnea in an infant? Was just thinking that an infant may not have the musculature developed well enough to overcome the obstructions that cause sleep apnea.
Also, as far as fat America, yes we are getting fatter and obesity in children is a problem. But please remember that sleep apnea also happens in normal weight persons. I have to assume that normal weight kids may also have sleep apnea (as well as the fat ones).
As far as SIDS goes, I don't think a fat baby has any correlation to SIDS deaths, so if SIDS and OSA is related, not sure if that has anything to do with a fat baby.
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Permalink Reply by Mack D Jones, MD, SAAN on
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A recent sleep study of 5 to 12 year old Chinese children in ten major cities in China, revealed 27.5% had OSA. The commonly quoted incidence in the USA is 2%, a number that is old, outdated and ludicrous to quote for the children of today. Dr Parks' estimate of 25% is much closer to reality. If we ever get around to doing an up to date study, I'll bet the incidence in our children is even greater than in China, especially in view of our current obesity epidemic.
BTW, obesity does not cause sleep apnea. Sleep apnea causes obesity. Weight gain makes it worse. Weight loss makes it better, but you still have it. SIDS is caused by sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a neurological disorder involving the autonomic nervous system. Neurons within the medulla oblongota and their tributaries are dysfunctional from birth. It has all the makings of an acquired genetic disorder involving the respiratory control systems. Don't believe me? The AASM is going to address this question in June. Let's see what they have to say. Stay tuned.
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I agree that apnea causes weight gain. I however disagree with the statement that apnea is not caused by being overweight. In my practice I deal with quite a few pre/post bariatric patients. While the percentage is not high I have seen a good number of these people beat apnea with weight loss.
Mack D Jones, MD, SAAN said:A recent sleep study of 5 to 12 year old Chinese children in ten major cities in China, revealed 27.5% had OSA. The commonly quoted incidence in the USA is 2%, a number that is old, outdated and ludicrous to quote for the children of today. Dr Parks' estimate of 25% is much closer to reality. If we ever get around to doing an up to date study, I'll bet the incidence in our children is even greater than in China, especially in view of our current obesity epidemic.
BTW, obesity does not cause sleep apnea. Sleep apnea causes obesity. Weight gain makes it worse. Weight loss makes it better, but you still have it. SIDS is caused by sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a neurological disorder involving the autonomic nervous system. Neurons within the medulla oblongota and their tributaries are dysfunctional from birth. It has all the makings of an acquired genetic disorder involving the respiratory control systems. Don't believe me? The AASM is going to address this question in June. Let's see what they have to say. Stay tuned.
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Permalink Reply by Banyon on
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Mike C (at the Beach!) said:And hey....just let everyone keep grazing at fast food stores
Mike C,
Don't get hung up in the blame-fast-food-restaurants game.- Look at all the "sit-down" restaurants - Huge portion sizes, huge plates, lots of carbs.
- Look at carts at grocery food stores. I often look at the cart in front of me and what they are putting up on the conveyor to the cashier. Lots of carbs, lots of things with lots of added sugars and empty carbs and very few fresh vegetables, fruits, meats and unsweetened dairy products.
- Look at so many people running around sipping all day on huge sweetened sodas, sweetened coffee drinks, and high-sugar-content smoothies.
- Look at the cookbooks being published - they have larger portion sizes than they did 30 years ago.
- Look at cabinets. Cabinet makers make larger cabinets today because the plates we use at home have gotten much larger.
So you can drive past the fast food restaurants and it won't change anything. You are getting the volume of unhealthy food from all directions.
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