Do perinatal factors associate with obstructive sleep apnea? A retrospective study of snoring children

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Several studies have suggested that preterm births might increase risk for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). The presence of sleep apnea in snoring children based on clinical history alone is often difficult to assess. <b>Aims and objectives:</b> The aim of this study was to determine whether perinatal factors are associated with OSAS in snoring children. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Retrospective analysis of data from children referred to our department for snoring between March 2016 and March 2020 was performed. Children with orofacial congenital anomalies or non respiratory sleep disorders were excluded. The association between neonatal factors (weight percentile at birth, prematurity, Apgar scores), age at surgery, weight percentile at surgery and adenoid/tonsillar hypertrophy with the presence of obstructive sleep apnea were analyzed. Apneas were considered based on clinical records from relative’s information (filmed respiratory pauses) or Polysomnography reports. <b>Results:</b> 1040 children met the eligibility criteria, 41.8% with OSAS. After correction for potential confounders using a Binary Multivariable Logistic Regression, only tonsillar hypertrophy with need for tonsillectomy significantly associated with obstructive sleep apnea (93.8% versus 66.6% in children without OSAS; p&amp;lt;0.001). Weight at birth, prematurity, Apgar scores, age at surgery, weight at surgery and adenoid hypertrophy did not show an association with OSAS (p &amp;gt; 0,05). <b>Conclusion:</b> Our results fail to show that perinatal risk factors are important for predicting the presence of obstructive sleep apnea in snoring children. Only tonsillar hypertrophy significantly associated with presence of OSAS.