Impact of sleep respiratory disorders on endothelial function in children.
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children can induce endothelial dysfunction, a well-known early marker of atherosclerosis. The study aimed to evaluate a link among endothelial function (measured by flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD)), obesity (evaluated by body mass index (BMI)), and sleep disordered breathing (SDB), assessed with apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI), in a paediatric population. We demonstrated that our little OSAS patients showed an impaired endothelial function as compared to controls. In particular, the higher the AHI, the worst the FMD values and thus the endothelial function. Although the population sample is small, this study demonstrated that OSAS could impair endothelial function and worsen cardiovascular risk profile since childhood.
Department of Biomedicine of the Developmental Age, Pediatric Unit "S. Maggiore", University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Luigia
L
Brunetti
Department of Biomedicine of the Developmental Age, Pediatric Unit "S. Maggiore", University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Ruggiero
R
Francavilla
Cardiovascular Diseases Section, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation (DETO), University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Pietro
P
Scicchitano
Department of Biomedicine of the Developmental Age, Pediatric Unit "S. Maggiore", University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Valentina
V
Tranchino
Department of Biomedicine of the Developmental Age, Pediatric Unit "S. Maggiore", University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Maria
M
Loscialpo
Cardiovascular Diseases Section, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation (DETO), University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Michele
M
Gesualdo
Cardiovascular Diseases Section, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation (DETO), University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Annapaola
A
Zito
Cardiovascular Diseases Section, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation (DETO), University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Fara
F
Fornarelli
Cardiovascular Diseases Section, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation (DETO), University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Marco
M
Sassara
Department of Biomedicine of the Developmental Age, Pediatric Unit "S. Maggiore", University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Paola
P
Giordano
Department of Biomedicine of the Developmental Age, Pediatric Unit "S. Maggiore", University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Vito Leonardo
VL
Miniello
Cardiovascular Diseases Section, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation (DETO), University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Marco Matteo
MM
Ciccone
D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014664:Vasodilation