Notes from Dr. Norman Blumenstock
A five year study is a wake-up call to a child snoring problem
Obese boys are more prone to habitual snoring than other children and they sleep less hours.
This would have been a better study if they all had sleep studies to see how many children had undiagnosed sleep apnea.
Elizabeth Cheung elizabeth.cheung@scmp.comPUBLISHED : Tuesday, 11 November, 2014, 4:49am UPDATED : Tuesday, 11 November, 2014, 4:49am
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| Obese boys are more prone to habitual snoring than other children, a five-year study reveals. Photo: Reuters |
Obese boys are more prone to habitual snoring than other children, a five-year study reveals.
The paediatric department of Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei conducted a phone survey with parents of 3,047 children in 2002 to understand the prevalence of sleep symptoms among local primary school pupils.
A similar follow-up survey was conducted five years later when the students had reached puberty. In 2007, researchers managed to interview 2,005 of the students involved in the first survey.
They found that 12.7 per cent of respondents, or 254 teenagers, were habitual snorers, meaning they snored on at least six nights a week.
About 40.6 per cent of pupils suffered from habitual snoring in both studies, while 7.1 per cent of children became habitual snorers when they moved to secondary school.
Dr Daniel Ng Kwok-keung, head of paediatrics at Kwong Wah Hospital, said male gender and a body mass index over 30 were factors leading to persistent and incidental habitual snoring.
Allergic rhinitis, inflammation of the nasal airways, is associated with persistent habitual snoring, while asthma is linked with incidental habitual snoring, meaning non-snorers started to snore in the second stage of study.
Habitual snoring affected the quality of teenagers’ sleep. Pupils who showed excessive daytime tiredness slept for 7.1 hours on average every day, which is half an hour less than those who did not show any tiredness during the day, the study found.
The study pointed out that as many as 90 per cent of respondents did not reach the international recommended sleeping range of at least 91/2 hours a day. Hong Kong teenagers sleep for an average of 7.6 hours a day.
To prevent habitual snoring, Ng suggests that children exercise for one hour every day to prevent obesity, treat allergic rhinitis with nasal wash or topical steroid, and avoid sleep deprivation.
He also advised children to maintain proper sleep hygiene, such as avoiding exposure to a computer monitor two hours before bedtime and by exercising in the afternoon.
The result of the research was published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health in June.
