Multilevel Risk Factors for Sleep-Disordered Breathing-Related Symptom Burden in an Urban Pediatric Community-Based

Seyni Gueye-Ndiaye1, Marissa Hauptman1, Xinting Yu1

  • 1Harvard Medical School (S. G.-N., M. H., X. Y., L. L., M. R., C. C.-D., J. O., D. R. G., W. P., and S. R.); the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders (S. G.-N., X. Y., L. L., M. R., C. C.-D., and S. R.), Brigham and Women's Hospital; the Division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine(S. G.-N.), Boston Children's Hospital; the Division of General Pediatrics (M. H.), Boston Children's Hospital; the Region1 New England Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) (M. H.); the Department of Statistics (T. S.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; the Division of Neurology (J. O.), Boston Children's Hospital; the Department of Medicine (D. R. G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital; the Department of Environmental Medicine (D. R. G. and G. A.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health (N. M. and P. S. T.), University of Iowa College of Public Health; the Division of Allergy/Immunology (W. P.), Boston Children's Hospital; and the Department of Epidemiology (S. R.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

CHEST Pulmonary
|January 15, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and indoor pest exposure are linked to increased pediatric sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) symptoms. Reducing these exposures may help alleviate sleep health disparities in children.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatric Health
  • Sleep Medicine

Background:

  • Pediatric sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) disproportionately affects children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds.
  • Multilevel risk factors contributing to pediatric SDB are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate associations between SDB risk factors and pediatric SDB symptoms.
  • Examined individual health conditions, household SES, indoor exposures, and neighborhood characteristics.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study of 303 children (aged 6-12 years).
  • Exposures assessed via caregiver reports, dust assays, and neighborhood Census data.
  • SDB symptom burden measured using the OSA-18 questionnaire.

Main Results:

  • Low household SES, asthma, allergies, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and indoor pests were associated with higher SDB symptom burden.
  • ETS and pest exposure remained significant predictors of SDB symptoms even after adjusting for other factors.
  • A novel association between indoor pest exposure and SDB symptom burden was identified.

Conclusions:

  • Indoor pest exposure, alongside ETS, is associated with pediatric SDB symptom burden.
  • Interventions targeting household ETS and indoor allergen reduction may mitigate sleep health disparities.
Abstract

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