Postnatal Growth Trajectories and Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Middle Age: A Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Growth and Development
• Sleep Medicine
• Cardiometabolic Health

Background:

• Childhood obesity is a precursor to adult cardiometabolic diseases.
• Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is strongly linked to obesity.
• The developmental origins of OSA risk are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between postnatal growth patterns in childhood and the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adulthood.
• To identify specific periods of childhood growth that may influence future OSA risk.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of anthropometric data from the New Delhi Birth Cohort study.
• Logistic regression models used to assess OSA risk (defined by Berlin Questionnaire) against conditional growth parameters (height, weight, BMI) during infancy, early, and late childhood.
• Multivariate analysis controlled for potential confounders.

Main Results:

• A high risk of OSA in adulthood was associated with higher conditional body mass index (BMI) in infancy and early childhood.
• Increased conditional weight gain in early childhood was also linked to a higher OSA risk.
• When obesity criteria were excluded from the OSA definition, adult BMI became the significant factor, not childhood growth parameters.

Conclusions:

• Accelerated conditional BMI and weight gain during early childhood are associated with an increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in middle age.
• Higher attained adult BMI mediates the relationship between childhood growth and adult OSA risk.