Sleep disordered breathing in children: which symptoms do parents consider a problem?

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Sleep Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Parents frequently under-report symptoms of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in children during medical consultations.
• Parental perception of SDB symptoms as problematic is hypothesized to influence reporting behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the extent to which parents perceive SDB symptoms as a problem in children from the general community.
• To specifically examine parental perception of SDB symptoms in children with current SDB symptoms.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was administered to parents of 1639 children aged 5-10 years in South Australia.
• The questionnaire assessed 32 sleep habits, including six SDB-related items, and whether parents viewed these habits as problematic.
• The study sample included children with and without a prior diagnosis of SDB, excluding those with medical conditions affecting SDB.

Main Results:

• Parents of children with a prior SDB diagnosis were more likely to report SDB symptoms and view them as a problem compared to parents of children without a prior diagnosis.
• In children without a prior SDB diagnosis, parents of symptomatic children viewed most SDB symptoms as problematic, with high percentages for apnea (91%) and snorting/gasping (63%).
• Prior SDB diagnosis, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity were weak predictors of parental perception of SDB symptoms as a problem.

Conclusions:

• Most parents of children with SDB symptoms perceive these issues as problematic, particularly apnea.
• The high parental concern contrasts with the observed under-reporting of SDB symptoms at medical consultations.
• Factors beyond parental problem perception likely contribute to the under-reporting of SDB symptoms, necessitating further research into consultation-prompting factors.