Sleep apnea and Down's syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
Obstructive sleep apnea has been reported to occur in 20-50% of children with Down's syndrome in case series of patients referred for evaluation of suspected sleep apnea. In this population-based controlled study, we aimed to investigate whether sleep apnea is related to Down's syndrome.


METHODS
Every child aged 2-10 years with Down's syndrome residing in the Umeå healthcare district (n = 28) was invited to participate in the study, with their siblings acting as controls. Successful overnight sleep apnea recordings and echocardiography were performed in 17/21 children with Down's syndrome and in 21 controls.


RESULTS
Obstructive sleep apnea could not be diagnosed, either in children with Down's syndrome or in the control children. The apnea-hypopnea index in the children with Down's syndrome was 1.2 +/- 1.5 and did not differ from that in controls. Snoring and hypertrophy of the tonsils were more common in children with Down's syndrome than in controls. Children with Down's syndrome slept for a shorter time (p < 0.001) and changed body position more often (p < 0.05) than the control children.


CONCLUSIONS
Snoring, restless sleep and hypertrophy of the tonsils were common among children with Down's syndrome. Obstructive sleep apnea was, however, not related to Down's syndrome in the present population-based controlled study.
Dahlqvist
Ake
A
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden. ake.dahlqvist@vll.se
Rask
Eva
E
Rosenqvist
Carl-Johan
CJ
Sahlin
Carin
C
Franklin
Karl A
KA
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology