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Working memory in children with sleep-disordered breathing: objective versus subjective measures

Sarah N Biggs1, Robert Bourke, Vicki Anderson

  • 1The Ritchie Centre, Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. sarah.biggs@monash.edu

Sleep Medicine
|September 20, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Parental reports of working memory deficits in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) may overestimate impairments. Objective testing suggests working memory is less affected than perceived, especially in milder SDB cases.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Neuropsychology
  • Child Development

Background:

  • Parental reports frequently cite working memory deficits in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB).
  • Objective testing results for these working memory deficits have been inconsistent.
  • This discrepancy necessitates a closer examination of working memory performance across SDB severity levels.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare working memory performance in children with varying degrees of SDB severity.
  • To evaluate both parent-reported and objectively measured working memory function.
  • To investigate the concordance between subjective and objective assessments of working memory in pediatric SDB.

Main Methods:

  • 127 children (7-12 years) were classified into four groups via polysomnography: control, primary snoring (PS), mild obstructive sleep apnea (mild OSA), and moderate-to-severe OSA (MS OSA).
  • Parental working memory was assessed using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF).
  • Objective working memory was measured using a computerized card recognition task (CogHealth).

Main Results:

  • Parental reports (BRIEF) indicated working memory deficits across all SDB severities compared to controls.
  • Objective testing (CogHealth) showed no significant differences between SDB groups and controls, though mild OSA performed worse than PS.
  • A notable discrepancy emerged: parents of controls reported fewer deficits, while parents of PS reported more deficits than objective measures indicated.

Conclusions:

  • Parents of children with less severe SDB may overestimate working memory deficits, potentially reflecting behavioral observations rather than cognitive impairment.
  • The assessment method significantly influences the observed working memory deficits in children with SDB.
  • Children with SDB might not experience the extent of working memory impairment previously assumed, highlighting the importance of objective evaluation.
Abstract

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