Behavioural disorders linked to snoring
Source: AAP New
research suggests children who
snore face nearly double the risk of being inattentive
and hyperactive, providing fresh
evidence of an
intriguing link between sleep problems and attention deficit
disorders.
While the study doesn't answer whether one condition
causes the other, the
researchers believe snoring and
other sleep problems may be the culprit in some cases
because children often express
sleepiness by being
inattentive and "hyper"
If it turns out to be true, this theory could help explain
the paradox over
why stimulants such as Ritalin can
effectively treat children with conditions like attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder
who already seem over-stimulated, said Dr. Ronald Chervin, a University of Michigan
neurologist and sleep researcher, and
the study's lead
author.
"If there is indeed a cause-and-effect link, sleep
problems in children could
represent a major public health
issue," Chervin said. "It's conceivable that by better
identifying and treating children's
snoring and other
nighttime breathing problems, we could help address some of
the most common and challenging childhood
behavioral
issues."
ADHD is the most common neurobehavioral disorder in
childhood, affecting
between 4 percent and 12 percent of
school-age children - or as many as 3.8 million youngsters.
Data cited by Chervin
suggest that between 7 percent
and 12 percent of children snore frequently, with
apnea - brief breathing lapses during
sleep that can
cause snoring - present in up to 3 percent of
school-age children.
Numerous other studies have found a link between sleep problems and ADHD, but
many sleep specialists and psychiatrists are divided over
which condition might cause the other.
"There's absolutely a connection," said Dr. Stephen Sheldon, a sleep specialist
at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
"There is a proportion of youngsters that have sleep
pathology causing their
daytime symptoms that appear
virtually identical to ADHD."
Dr. Timothy Wilens, a child psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital in
Boston, is more skeptical.
"I would say the verdict is still out," said Wilens. ADHD is
thought to have
a genetic cause and runs in families,
Wilens said. The sleep disturbances his research has
found in ADHD children, including
restlessness and
difficulty falling asleep, are likely the result of
behavioral problems, not vice versa, he said.
Chervin's study involving 866 children aged 2 through 13 is published in the
March issue of Pediatrics. It is based on
surveys of parents about their children's behaviour and
sleep
patterns.
