The prevalence of symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing in Brazilian schoolchildren.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the prevalence of symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing among children of low socioeconomic status in the South of Brazil.


METHODS
This was a cross-sectional study, carried out in the city of Uruguaiana, RS, in which specific questionnaire about the symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing was completed by the parents of a sample of schoolchildren aged 9 to 14 years, enrolled on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC).


RESULTS
From the total of 1,011 eligible schoolchildren, 998 questionnaires were completed. The parents of 27.6% of the children reported habitual snoring, while 0.8% reported apnea, 15.5% described daytime mouth breathing and 7.8% complained of excessive daytime sleepiness. Children with excessive daytime sleepiness were at greater risk of habitual snoring (OR = 2.7; 95%CI 1.4-5.4), apnea (OR = 9.9; 95%CI 1.2-51), mouth breathing (OR = 13.1; 95%CI 6.2-27.4) and learning difficulties (OR = 9.9; 95%CI 1.9-51.0). Rhinitis, maternal smoking and positive allergy skin test results were significantly associated with habitual snoring and daytime mouth breathing.


CONCLUSIONS
There is an elevated prevalence of symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing among children from 9 to 14 in the city of Uruguaiana. The prevalence of habitual snoring was almost twice that described in this age group in other populations. Children with excessive daytime sleepiness appear to have almost 10 times the risk of learning difficulties.
Petry
Carine
C
Instituto de Pesquisas Biomédicas, Hospital São Lucas, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. carinepetry@terra.com.br
Pereira
Marilyn U
MU
Pitrez
Paulo M C
PM
Jones
Marcus H
MH
Stein
Renato T
RT
D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009058:Mouth Breathing / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012913:Snoring / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors