Prevalence of Sleep Disorders in Thai Children

To evaluate the prevalence of sleep disorders in Thai children who underwent polysomnography at a single institution.

A retrospective analysis of pediatric polysomnographic studies was performed from January 2011 through December 2014.

One hundred sixty-six studies were conducted; 142, 7, and 17 were diagnostic, split-night, and positive airway pressure (PAP) titration studies, respectively. In total, 136 diagnostic/split-night studies were performed to diagnose sleep disorders with presentation of snoring (92.6 %), heavy breathing (0.7 %), witnessed apnea (14.7 %), excessive daytime sleepiness (10.3 %), hyperactivity (2.2 %), restless sleep (11.0 %), enuresis/nocturia (5.9 %), abnormal behavior (4.4 %) and poor weight gain (0.7 %). Eleven diagnostic studies and one split-night study were performed to follow-up obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) after adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy. One diagnostic study was conducted to follow-up OSA after postmandibular distraction. OSA was the most common diagnosis with a prevalence of 92.7 %; 40.4 % of patients were diagnosed with severe OSA. The prevalence of sleep-related hypoventilation was 15.4 %. The second most common diagnosis was periodic limb movement disorder with a prevalence of 20.6 %. Seventeen PAP titration studies were performed. Four CPAP titration studies were conducted for OSA treatment. Twelve bi-level (BiPAP) titration studies were performed in eight children with hypoventilation. One BiPAP/average volume-assured pressure support titration was conducted in a patient with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS).

The prevalence of sleep disorders in Thai children who underwent polysomnography at a tertiary-care hospital is very high. The factors that contribute are the limited availability and high costs of polysomnography in Thailand. This information will encourage pediatricians to look for sleep disorders in children.