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Nocturnal dipping is preserved in children with sleep disordered breathing regardless of its severity

Rosemary S C Horne1, Joel S C Yang, Lisa M Walter

  • 1The Ritchie Centre, Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

Pediatric Pulmonology
|July 2, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in children did not affect nocturnal blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) dipping patterns. This suggests young children may not be affected by SDB long enough to alter these cardiovascular profiles.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Physiology

Background:

  • Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in adults is linked to altered nocturnal blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) dipping.
  • Limited research exists on SDB's impact on nocturnal BP and HR dipping in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate nocturnal blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) dipping profiles in children with varying severities of sleep disordered breathing (SDB).
  • To compare dipping patterns between children with SDB and healthy, non-snoring controls.

Main Methods:

  • Non-invasive, continuous overnight BP and HR monitoring in 105 children (aged 7-12) with SDB and 36 controls.
  • Categorization of SDB severity using the obstructive apnea hypopnea index.
  • Analysis of nocturnal dipping based on percentage fall from wake to sleep and BP sleep/wake ratios (dippers, non-dippers, reverse dippers).

Main Results:

  • No significant differences were found in the mean fall of BP or HR between wakefulness and different sleep stages (NREM 1/2, SWS, REM) among SDB severity groups.
  • No differences observed in nocturnal dipping profiles (extreme, dippers, non-dippers, reverse dippers) across the SDB and control groups.

Conclusions:

  • Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) did not alter nocturnal blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) dipping patterns in the studied children.
  • Findings may indicate insufficient exposure duration or severity of SDB to impact dipping profiles in this pediatric cohort.
  • Further research is needed to ascertain long-term cardiovascular effects of elevated BP previously reported in children with SDB.
Abstract

Keywords:
blood pressurepediatricssleep

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