Mood is associated with snoring in preschool-aged children

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Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
08:20

Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood

Published on: October 2, 2019

Eeva T Aronen1, Katja Liukkonen, Petteri Simola

  • 1Department of Child Psychiatry, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Neuroscience Unit of the Helsinki Brain Research Center, Helsinki, Finland. eeva.aronen@helsinki.fi

Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics : JDBP
|March 5, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Snoring children aged 3-6 show more internalizing emotional problems and worse cognitive performance, including attention and language skills. Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is a potential risk factor for these issues in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Child Psychology
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Background:

  • Snoring in children is common and can be associated with sleep disordered breathing (SDB).
  • The impact of snoring on emotional, behavioral, and cognitive development in young children requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare emotional and behavioral problems, sleep quality, and cognitive performance between snoring and nonsnoring children aged 3 to 6 years.
  • To identify potential links between snoring and developmental outcomes in preschool-aged children.

Main Methods:

  • A clinical study involving 43 snoring and 46 nonsnoring children aged 3-6 years.
  • Parental completion of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).
  • Neuropsychological assessments including the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Revised, and NEPSY-A subtests for attention, language, sensorimotor, memory, and learning.

Main Results:

  • Snoring children exhibited significantly more parent-reported internalizing symptoms, particularly anxious/depressed mood and emotional reactivity.
  • A higher percentage of snoring children scored in the subclinical or clinical range for internalizing symptoms compared to nonsnorers.
  • The snoring group performed worse on auditory attention and language skills (verbal IQ) tests.
  • Snoring children also reported more sleep problems beyond snoring.

Conclusions:

  • Snoring, indicative of potential sleep disordered breathing (SDB), is associated with increased internalizing emotional symptoms in young children.
  • Impaired cognitive functions, specifically in attention and language, are observed in children who snore.
  • SDB should be considered a risk factor for mood disorders and cognitive deficits in childhood.
Abstract

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