Sleep Disordered Breathing: An Epidemiological Study among Albanian Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) comprises a group of diseases characterized by alterations in the frequency and/or depth of breathing during sleep. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of SDB in a group of Albanian children and adolescents and to describe its social, physiological, psychological, sleep-related, and anthropometric risk factors, in relation to the sociodemographic situation. A total of 6087 participants (mean age: 10.42 years, range: 6 to 15 years, 52.3% females and 47.7% males) attending public schools all over Albania took part in the cross-sectional study. On a sample of 6087 questionnaires distributed, 4702 (77.25% of the original sample) were returned and included in the study. High risk status for SDB was assessed using the Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ). The prevalence of SDB was 7.9%. No statistically significant difference was found for gender at high risk for SBD. Compared to participants living in urban aeras (7.3%), participants living in rural areas (10.4%) reported significantly higher SDB prevalence rates. No other significant correlations were detected between the high-risk subjects and the age. The prevalence of the subjects at high risk of SBD obese participants (20.8%) was statistically higher than among nonobese ones (6.3%). SDB is highly prevalent in Albanian growing population and further prevalence studies are recommended.

Automatic Sleep Stage Classification of Children with Sleep-Disordered Breathing Using the Modularized Network

“…2 The mobility of SDB in children who suffer from snoring, mouth breathing, or apnea ranged from 7.9 to 13.4% as measured according to the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ). 3,4 Based on guidelines provided by the American Academy of Paediatrics in 2012, the morbidity due to OSA in children is 1 to 5%. 5 Since overnight polysomnography (PSG) remains the gold standard for diagnosing the severity of SDB, diagnostic efficiency is largely dependent on the availability and accessibility of this technique.…”

Sleep Bruxism and SDB in Albanian Growing Subjects: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…This lack of information, regardless of the educational level of the parents, is also supported by Prado [35] in a study carried out in Brazil on a sample of 1325 parents, where 57.3% of them had no information about the phenomenon, and 88.9% said they would like to know more. This situation may be correlated with the actual low level of general prevention in the Albanian population, as described in other papers on growing subjects [36][37][38].…”

Associations of Sleep-Related Outcomes with Behavioral and Emotional Functioning in Children with Overweight/Obesity

“…Obstructive sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) affects 4-11% of children worldwide, with a range of severity from primary snoring to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) [3]. Pediatric obesity is closely linked to sleep problems [4], and increases the risk for SDB (20.8%) compared with children with normal-weight (6.3%) [5]. Furthermore, children with overweight/obesity often show suboptimal sleeping times, insufficient sleep efficiency, and short sleep duration [6][7][8][9][10].…”