Prevalence of sleep problems in Hong Kong primary school children: a community-based telephone survey.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the prevalence of snoring, witnessed sleep apnea, teeth grinding, primary and secondary nocturnal enuresis, and sleep duration in Hong Kong primary school children.


METHODS
Cross-sectional telephone questionnaire survey in a community.


METHODS
A total of 3,047 6- to 12-year-old apparently healthy children.


METHODS
Those who agreed to the study were contacted by telephone. Survey questions were asked about the symptoms of the different sleep disorders, and the frequency of each positive symptom was noted for the preceding 1 week.


METHODS
Prevalence and risk factors of sleep disorders in Hong Kong primary school children.


RESULTS
The prevalence of the following sleep symptoms was listed as follows: habitual snoring (10.9%), witnessed sleep apnea (1.5%), nocturnal enuresis (5.1%), and sleep teeth grinding (20.5%). Significant risk factors for habitual snoring included witnessed sleep apnea, mouth breathing during sleep, snoring in first-degree relatives, headache on rising, male gender, allergic rhinitis, and sleep teeth grinding. Significant risk factors for witnessed sleep apnea included habitual snoring, allergic rhinitis, tiredness on rising, and excessive daytime sleepiness. Poor academic results were associated with present of witnessed sleep apnea and absence of sleep teeth grinding. None of the sleep problem was associated with poor conduct results. The mean sleep duration was 8.79 h (SD 0.96).


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides epidemiologic data of sleep-disordered breathing, enuresis, sleep teeth grinding, and duration of sleep in Chinese primary school children in Hong Kong.
Ng
Daniel K
DK
Department of Paediatrics, Kwong Wah Hospital, Waterloo Rd, Hong Kong SAR, ROC. dkkng@ha.org.hk
Kwok
Ka-Li
KL
Cheung
Josephine M
JM
Leung
Shuk-Yu
SY
Chow
Pok-Yu
PY
Wong
Wilfred H
WH
Chan
Chung-Hong
CH
Ho
Jackson C
JC
D002012:Bruxism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D003625:Data Collection; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004775:Enuresis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D012913:Snoring / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013997:Time Factors