Behavior Problems Associated with Sleep Disordered Breathing in School-Aged Children—the Tucson Children’s Assessment of Sleep Apnea Study

• Published in: Journal of pediatric psychology 2006-04, Vol.31 (3), p.322-330
• Main Authors: Mulvaney, Shelagh A., Goodwin, James L., Morgan, Wayne J., Rosen, Gerald R., Quan, Stuart F., Kaemingk, Kristine L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Analysis of Variance; Arizona - epidemiology; Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders - epidemiology; Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders - etiology; behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Behavior Checklist; Child Behavior Disorders - epidemiology; Child Behavior Disorders - etiology; Child clinical studies; children; Conners’ Parent Rating Scales—Revised; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disorders of higher nervous function. Focal brain diseases. Central vestibular syndrome and deafness. Brain stem syndromes; Epidemiology; Female; General aspects; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Pneumology; Polysomnography; Prevalence; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Respiratory Disturbance Index; Respiratory system : syndromes and miscellaneous diseases; Sleep Apnea Syndromes - complications; sleep disordered breathing
• ISSN: 0146-8693; 1465-735X
• DOI: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsj035

Objective The purpose of the current study was to examine prevalence of and relations between a commonly used measure of nighttime breathing problems, the Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI), and a range of problem behaviors in community children. Methods Participants were 403 unreferred children aged 6–12 years. Recruitment was completed through public elementary schools. Overnight unattended in-home polysomnography was used to assess sleep and breathing. The RDI was used as the indicator of respiratory events during sleep. The Child Behavior Checklist and the Conners’ Parent Rating Scales-Revised were used to assess behavior. Results Prevalence rates for Attention, Cognitive Problems, Aggression, Oppositional behavior, and Social Problems were greatest for subjects with high RDIs. Prevalence for Internalizing behaviors was not greater for those subjects with high RDIs. Hyperactivity was not strongly related to higher RDIs. Conclusions Behavioral problems may exist in the presence of nocturnal breathing events in unreferred children. Specific patterns of behavioral morbidity have still not been established. Some behaviors, such as hyperactivity, may show differing sensitivity and specificity in relation to the RDI.