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Sleep Quality in a Case-control Subset of Trisomy 21 and Typically Developing Children in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi
May W Al-Khudhairy1, Farah Al Shami2, Anfal AlOtebe2
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Phone: +966 503476722,
Insights
Children with trisomy 21 experience significant sleep disturbances, including anxiety and breathing issues, linked to distinct oral features. These findings highlight the need for integrated clinical and sleep assessments.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Genetics and Developmental Disorders
- Clinical Dentistry
Background:
- Children with Down syndrome (trisomy 21) often face sleep challenges.
- Identifying specific sleep domains and clinical features is crucial for understanding these disturbances.
- Comparison with typically developing (TD) children is essential for context.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify sleep domains and clinical features associated with sleep disturbances in children with trisomy 21.
- To compare these features with age-matched typically developing controls.
- To elucidate the relationship between clinical characteristics and sleep quality in trisomy 21.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 100 Saudi Arabian children (ages 3-12), with 50 having trisomy 21 and 50 being TD controls.
- Utilized clinical examination of oral characteristics.
- Employed the Wisconsin's 22-item Children's Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ) to assess sleep quality.
Main Results:
- Significant differences observed in sleep domains: sleep anxiety, parasomnia, and sleep-disordered-breathing.
- Clinical features unique to trisomy 21 included Mallampati score, macroglossia, lip-incompetence, tongue-ridging, and wear-facets.
- A correlation between clinical features and sleep quality was evident.
Conclusions:
- Clinical features and sleep quality are interconnected in children with trisomy 21, offering insight into sleep disturbance severity.
- Dental clinicians should consider these factors, as poor sleep can exacerbate existing disadvantages for children with trisomy 21.
- Integrated assessment of oral health and sleep is recommended for this population.
Aim:
To identify sleep-domains as well as clinical features in children with trisomy 21 that may shed light on a possible sleep disturbance as compared with typically developing (TD) age-matched-controls.
Materials And Methods:
A convenient sample of 100 Saudi Arabian children between the ages of 3-12 were invited to participate from several schools and centers in Riyadh during February 2018 to April 2018. Fifty of these children had trisomy 21, and 50 were TD age-matched-controls. A clinical examination of participants' oral characteristics as well as the Wisconsin's 22 item Children's Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ) were utilized to help identify the impact of these variables on sleep quality.
Results:
Sleep domains that harbored strong evidence in differences between the two groups were sleep anxiety, parasomnia, and sleep-disordered-breathing. The clinical features unique to trisomy 21 were Mallampati score, macroglossia, lip-incompetence, tongue-ridging, and wear-facets.
Conclusion:
Clinical features and sleep quality coexist, providing better insight into the degree of sleep disturbance a child with trisomy 21 may have.
Clinical Significance:
Dental clinicians must consider such factors that preclude to poor sleep, which might place children with trisomy 21 at a further disadvantage despite the fact that their baseline is already at risk of being at such a stage.
