title: Identification of sleep-disordered breathing in children: variation with event definition.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the effect of varying approaches to the measurement of the respiratory disturbance index (RDI) on identification of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study of SDB in a well-characterized birth cohort (stratified for term and preterm birth) participating in longitudinal studies of cognition and behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community-based; overnight studies conducted in participant's homes.
  
  
  METHODS
  433 children, ages 8-11 years, un-referred for clinical assessment of SDB.
  
  
  METHODS
  N/A.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants underwent unattended overnight in-home recording of respiratory inductance plethysmography, pulse oximetry, body position, and heart rate. The relationships among RDIs derived from various definitions of apnea and hypopneas and thresholds for frequency of events were assessed. Median RDI varied by more than 20-fold for definitions using the more liberal criteria for event definition (all respiratory events; i.e., central or obstructive events and hypopneas with no requirement for associated desaturation) to the most conservative definition (using obstructive apneas only or obstructive apnea and hypopneas requiring a 5% associated desaturation). Prevalence estimates for SDB based on RDIs that included central apneas were 40% to 140% higher than those that excluded central apneas.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Different approaches for quantifying RDI contribute to substantial variability in identification and classification of SDB in children and will lead to discrepant estimates of its presence and severity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Jenny  P L
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Carol L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: Emma K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Larkin
authors.forename: Juliann M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: DiFiore
authors.forename: Jean L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Surovec
authors.forename: JoAnne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Youngblut
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Redline
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology