Expanding Waist Worsens Kids’ Sleep Apnea

For children who have trouble breathing during sleep, gaining weight around the middle may make things worse, new research shows.

Approximately 2 percent of children have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which is frequently treated by removing the tonsils and adenoids.

Gaining weight is known to worsen OSA in adults, but this relationship has not been demonstrated before in children.

It’s not clear what factors increase the likelihood that a child with mild OSA will experience worsening of their symptoms, Dr. A. M. Li and colleagues point out in a report in the medical journal Thorax.

To investigate, a team from The Chinese University of Hong Kong followed 56 children with mild OSA for two years. At the end of the study, they re-assessed 45 of the subjects and found that in 13 cases, the OSA had become worse.

The 13 children whose sleep apnea had worsened showed a greater increase, on average, in their waist size than the children whose condition hadn’t worsened.

In addition, more of the children who experienced a worsening of OSA had large tonsils at the study’s outset and at follow-up.

The study authors say children with mild OSA apnea and large tonsils, especially boys, should be followed closely so that any worsening of the condition can be detected early.

And, obviously, weight control is an important aspect of managing mild OSA in children.

The study appears in Thorax, 2010.