title: Prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children with Down Syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a large cohort of children with Down syndrome (DS), and to investigate which patient- related factors correlate with disease severity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study in children with DS referred for full overnight polysomnography in a tertiary care center.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Polysomnographic data are available for 122 children (70 boys), age 5.0 y (2.8-10.5), and body mass index (BMI) z-score 0.7 (-0.3 to 1.7). The overall prevalence of OSA was 66.4%. In almost half of these children severe OSA was diagnosed (obstructive AHI [oAHI] ≥ 10/h). In children with parental reports of snoring or witnessed apneas (group A), OSA was significantly more common (75.7%) than in those without these symptoms (group B) 53.8% (P = 0.019). Children in group A had more severe OSA, oAHI 5.7/h (1.7-13.8) compared to those in group B 2.2/h (0.8-8.0) (P = 0.018). A significant inverse correlation between age and oAHI (P = 0.028) was found. Sex and BMI z-score were not significantly correlated to oAHI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based upon full night polysomnography, an overall 66.4% prevalence of OSA was found in children with Down syndrome. Even in those with a negative history for OSA, the prevalence was 53.8%. Younger age was associated with more severe disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Antwerp, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Mieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maris
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Stijn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verhulst
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wojciechowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Antwerp, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van de Heyning
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Antwerp, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: An
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boudewyns
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012913:Snoring / Q000150:complications
keywords: Down syndrome; obstructive sleep apnea; polysomnography