This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Epidemiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Although unrecognized, obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in children has existed for a long time and in 1889 Hill published a paper explaining the symptoms of OSA in children with nasal and pharyngeal obstructions (1).

According to the ENT-UK (the British Association of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery), about a quarter of the 27,400 paediatric tonsillectomies in 2008-9 in the UK were carried out for obstructive conditions (1).

Cross sectional studies carried out in the UK revealed that 12 % of children were habitual snorers out of which 0.7 % had obstructive sleep apnoea (2)

  • so it can be said that around one in 100 children on the average GP list will have OSA which increases to approximately one in 10 of those who snore habitually

Prevalence of OSA around the world is estimated to be between 1 and 2% (2)

Reference:

(1) Powell S et al. Paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea. BMJ. 2010;340:c1918

(2) 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.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.