Child behavior and quality of life in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.
OBJECTIVE
To assess behavior and quality of life in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) undergoing tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy compared with control children.


METHODS
Prospective controlled study.


METHODS
Hospital-based pediatric otolaryngology practice.


METHODS
Forty-two children (25 boys and 17 girls; mean [SD] age, 5.8 [2.5] years) with OSA confirmed by positive findings on polysomnography undergoing tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy and 41 control children (29 boys and 12 girls; mean [SD] age, 7.3 [3.8] years) with no history of snoring undergoing unrelated elective surgery.


METHODS
Parents completed the standardized Child Behavior Checklist and a validated pediatric OSA quality-of-life survey before and 3 months after surgery.


METHODS
Child Behavior Checklist T scores and score classifications and quality-of-life survey mean scores.


RESULTS
Change in mean total problem T score was significantly greater in the OSA group (from 51.6 at baseline to 48.3 at follow-up) than in controls (from 45.5 at baseline to 46.7 at follow-up) (P = .03). The improvement in total T score classification (normal vs borderline or abnormal) was significant for children with OSA compared with control children (P = .009). Children with OSA had significant improvements in the quality-of-life survey mean total score and all individual domain scores compared with controls (P<.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Behavioral and emotional difficulties are found in children with documented OSA compared with control children, and they improve after treatment. Large improvements in disease-specific quality of life are also found. Scores on a standardized measure of behavior assessment demonstrated significant correlation with scores on a validated quality-of-life instrument.
Tran
Khoa D
KD
Department of Otolaryngology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
Nguyen
Cuong D
CD
Weedon
Jeremy
J
Goldstein
Nira A
NA
D000233:Adenoidectomy; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010608:Pharyngeal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D017286:Polysomnography; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D014068:Tonsillectomy