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Prevalence of periodic limb movements during sleep in normal children

Carole L Marcus1, Joel Traylor1, Paul R Gallagher2

  • 1Sleep Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.

Sleep
|August 2, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) are infrequent in healthy children. This study supports the current clinical threshold for abnormal PLMS, showing a link to increased sleep fragmentation.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Neurology
  • Respiratory Medicine

Background:

  • The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommends scoring periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) on all polysomnograms.
  • A periodic limb movement index (PLMI) > 5/h is considered abnormal in children, but community data and supporting evidence for this cutoff are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of PLMS in a sample of healthy children.
  • To provide normative data for PLMS in a pediatric population.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective study of 195 healthy, non-snoring children aged 5-17 years.
  • Polysomnography was performed, and PLMS were scored using AASM 2007 criteria.
  • Analysis included calculation of the periodic limb movement index (PLMI).

Main Results:

  • The median PLMI was 0/h, with 7.7% of children having a PLMI > 5/h.
  • Only 1.5% of children met the adult criterion of a PLMI > 15/h.
  • Children with a PLMI > 5/h exhibited a significantly higher arousal index, indicating increased sleep fragmentation.

Conclusions:

  • Periodic limb movements during sleep are infrequent in normal children from the community.
  • The study supports the clinical cutoff of PLMI > 5/h for identifying abnormal PLMS in children.
  • Normative data are provided, supporting the use of this cutoff due to its association with sleep fragmentation.
Abstract

Keywords:
normative datapediatricsperiodic limb movements

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