title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Pulmonology Unit and Sleep Disorders Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics, Pulmonology, and Physiology, University of Thessaly School of Medicine and Larissa University Hospital, Larissa, Greece. KADITIA@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Athanasios G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kaditis
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Finder
authors.forename: Emmanouel I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Alexopoulos
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Starantzis
authors.forename: Kalliopi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanou
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gampeta
authors.forename: Eleftherios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Agorogiannis
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Christodoulou
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pantazidou
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gourgoulianis
authors.forename: Paschalis Adam
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Molyvdas
mesh_terms: D000233:Adenoidectomy; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005221:Fatigue; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography; D015995:Prevalence; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000150:complications; D012737:Sex Factors; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D012913:Snoring; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects; D014068:Tonsillectomy
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution