title: Public health implications of obstructive sleep apnea burden.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the implications of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) burden among Indian children.
  
  
  METHODS
  MonteCarlo simulations were performed in order to estimate the number of OSA related obesity cases among Indian children (1-14 y of age) and the number of cases of stroke, coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes, considered as main adverse outcomes of OSA related childhood obesity, according to untreated and treated [adenotonsillectomy (AT) alone and AT associated to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)] pediatric OSA. Data used to perform MonteCarlo simulations were derived from a review about current literature exploring OSA related obesity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysis on the number of adverse outcomes according to treated and untreated obesity related to OSA showed that treatments reduce the number of obesity cases, resulting in a great reduction of the amount of stroke, CHD and type 2 diabetes cases. However, the cost for treating adverse outcome was higher in patients treated for obesity related to OSA compared to those not receiving any treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The reduction in the number of adverse outcomes due to treatment of obesity related OSA implicates the urgent need for public health policies in providing screening for OSA among children population: an early detection and a consequently prompt reaction to pediatric OSA could improve the burden of OSA related obesity.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padova, Via Loredan, 18, 35121, Padova, Italy, ileana.baldi@unipd.it.
authors.forename: Ileana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Baldi
authors.forename: Achal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gulati
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lorenzoni
authors.forename: Kiran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Natarajan
authors.forename: Simonetta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ballali
authors.forename: Mohan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kameswaran
authors.forename: Ranjith
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rajeswaran
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gregori
authors.forename: Gulshan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sethi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D011634:Public Health; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications*