Determining sleep quality in children with sleep disordered breathing: EEG spectral analysis compared with conventional polysomnography.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the extent of sleep disruption in children with various severities of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) using both conventional visually scored assessment of sleep stages and arousal indices together with EEG power spectral analysis.


METHODS
Sleep stages and power spectral analysis of the sleep EEG in children with varying severities of SDB with matched control subjects with no history of snoring were compared across the whole night, across sequential hours from sleep onset, and across sleep stages.


METHODS
Overnight polysomnography was performed on 90 children (49M/41F) aged 7-12 y with SDB and 30 age-matched healthy controls (13M/17F). Sleep stages were visually scored and the EEG spectra were analyzed in 5-s epochs.


RESULTS
Conventional visual scoring indicated that, although sleep duration was reduced in severely affected children, sleep quality during the essential stages of SWS and REM was preserved, as evidenced by the lack of any significant decrease in their duration in SDB severity groups. This finding was supported by the lack of substantial differences in EEG spectral power between the groups over the whole night, within specific hours, and in individual sleep stages.


CONCLUSIONS
Both conventional scoring and EEG spectral analysis indicated only minor disruptions to sleep quality in children with SDB when assessed across the night, in any specific hour of the night, or in any specific sleep stage. These results suggest that reduced daytime functioning previously reported in children with SDB may not be due to sleep disruption. We speculate that in children, in contrast to adults, a stronger sleep drive may preserve sleep quality even in severe SDB.
Yang
Joel S C
JS
The Ritchie Centre, Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
Nicholas
Christian L
CL
Nixon
Gillian M
GM
Davey
Margot J
MJ
Anderson
Vicki
V
Walker
Adrian M
AM
Trinder
John A
JA
Horne
Rosemary S C
RS
D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors