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Sleep cyclic alternating pattern in otherwise healthy overweight school-age children

Rodrigo Chamorro1, Raffaele Ferri2, Cecilia Algarín1

  • 1Sleep Laboratory, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INTA), University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Sleep
|March 4, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Overweight children exhibit altered sleep patterns, specifically during slow-wave sleep, characterized by more frequent cyclic alternating patterns (CAPs). These findings suggest less stable sleep in overweight youth.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Childhood Obesity Research
  • Neurophysiology

Background:

  • Sleep microstructure, particularly cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) characteristics, plays a crucial role in sleep quality and stability.
  • Nutritional status, specifically overweight (OW) and normal weight (NW), may influence sleep architecture in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare sleep microstructure, specifically cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) characteristics, between healthy overweight (OW) and normal weight (NW) children.
  • To investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and CAP parameters in children.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional polysomnographic study was conducted in a sleep laboratory.
  • Fifty-eight 10-year-old children (26 NW, 32 OW) participated, free of sleep disorders.
  • Cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) analysis was performed visually during NREM sleep.

Main Results:

  • Conventional sleep parameters were similar between NW and OW children.
  • Body mass index (BMI) positively correlated with CAP rate and sequences, and inversely with CAP B phase duration.
  • Overweight children displayed altered CAP characteristics during slow-wave sleep (SWS), including higher CAP rate, more CAP cycles, and shorter CAP B phase duration.

Conclusions:

  • Cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) characteristics are influenced by nutritional status in children.
  • Overweight children exhibit altered sleep microstructure during SWS, suggesting potentially less stable sleep episodes.
  • These findings highlight the impact of obesity on pediatric sleep neurophysiology.
Abstract

Keywords:
Cyclic alternating patternbody-mass indexchildrenoverweightsleep microstructure

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