Aetiology
Obstructive sleep apnoea occurs in three groups of children:
- those with adenotonsillar hypertrophy
- main issue correlated with OSA in children (1)
- often there is no underlying medical diagnosis
- peak incidence is seen in children aged 3 to 6 years (which coincides with the time when the adenoids and tonsils undergo hypertrophy)
- those who are obese
- pathogenesis is multifactorial
- exact mechanism is unclear but pharyngeal adipose tissue and decreased respiratory capacity are thought to contribute
- those who have congenital abnormalities
- Down's syndrome
- OSA may be caused by an abnormally narrow upper airway and reduced pharyngeal muscle tone.
- regular screening for obstructive sleep apnoea is recommended since around two thirds of children will have have some form of sleep disordered breathing
- neuromuscular disease
- craniofacial abnormalities
- achondroplasia
- mucopolysaccharidoses
- Prader-Willi syndrome (2,3)
- Down's syndrome
Reference:
(2) Powell S et al. Paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea. BMJ. 2010;340:c1918
(3) Powell S. Clinical review: Paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea. GPonline 2011
Create an account to add page annotations
Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.