An epidemiologic study of sleep-disordered breathing in a large sample of Chinese adolescents

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Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is common among adolescents and is associated with short- and long-term consequences. Data on the prevalence and epidemiologic characteristics of SDB in Chinese adolescents are limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence, epidemiologic characteristics, and associated factors of SDB using a large sample of Chinese adolescents. Participants were from the baseline of the Shandong Adolescent Behavior and Health Cohort (SABHC) and included 11,831 adolescents (aged 14.97 ± 1.46 years old) from five middle schools and three high schools in Shandong Province, China. Adolescents completed a self-administered questionnaire on sleep-related variables, demographics, general health, family, and school information. SDB was defined as report of loud snoring or snorting/gasping or stopping breathing during sleep occurring weekly. In this sample, 8.3% of the adolescents snored loudly at least once per week and 2.1% snored loudly almost every night. Snorting/gasping and stopping breathing at least once a week affected 6.6% and 2.0% of adolescents, respectively. The prevalence of weekly SDB was 13.4% according to adolescent report. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that SDB was independently associated with male gender, body mass index (BMI), chronic diseases, ever smoking, ever drinking, insomnia, daytime sleepiness, poor family economic status, and low father education level. SDB is prevalent in Chinese adolescents, and multiple factors are associated with SDB. These associations also require longitudinal epidemiologic studies to clarify the complex nature of their relationships and opportunities for and effects of intervention.