Asthma and sleep disturbance in adolescents and young adults: A cohort study.
OBJECTIVE
A longitudinal birth cohort provides an opportunity to study the impact of childhood conditions persisting into adulthood. This study examines the cross-sectional association of asthma with sleep quality and snoring in the adolescent and young adult population and the extent to which asthma, sleep quality and snoring at 14 years independently predict themselves or each other at 21 years.


METHODS
Data from a 21-year follow-up of mothers and their children recruited into the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (n = 7223). Complete asthma and sleep information (questionnaire data) was available for 5015 participants at 14 years and 3527 at 21 years, with 3237 participants at both 14 and 21 years.


RESULTS
Poor sleep quality and snoring were independently associated with asthma at 14 years and 21 years, with stronger associations evident in women. At 21 years, associations were mediated by asthma symptom severity. Asthma, sleep quality and snoring at 14 years each strongly and independently predicted themselves at 21 years. Asthma at 14 years predicted snoring at 21 years, while poor sleep quality and snoring in women predicted asthma at 21 years, the latter partially mediated by body mass index.


CONCLUSIONS
The relationship between asthma, sleep quality and snoring varied by gender. Sleep quality and snoring should be considered in the assessment and holistic management of asthma. The predictive relationship seen between 14 and 21 years provides an opportunity to address these issues at a younger age.
Mater Misericordiae Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Mark
M
Garden
Mater Misericordiae Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Michael
M
O'Callaghan
Mater Misericordiae Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Sadasivam
S
Suresh
School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia.
Abdullah A
AA
Mamum
School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia.
Jake M
JM
Najman
adolescence; asthma; sleep disturbance; snoring; young adults