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Sleep Disordered Breathing in Children

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Abstract

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) refers to a group of disorders characterized by abnormalities of respiration or ventilation during sleep. It encompasses obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central sleep apnea (CSA) syndromes, sleep-related hypoventilation and sleep-related hypoxemia disorders. This review will concentrate on the disorder most prevalent in pediatrics, i.e., OSA, highlighting the most recent developments in our understanding of the etiology, pathophysiology and treatment options of this condition. OSA morbidities primarily involve the neurocognitive, cardiovascular and metabolic systems. However, there can be significant phenotypic variation in terms of end organ morbidity for the same OSA severity. This is likely due to the interplay between genetic and environmental factors; recent developments in the fields of genomics and proteomics have the potential to shed light on these complex pathological cascades. As we enter the era of personalized medicine, phenotyping patients to enable clinicians to tailor bespoke clinical management plans will be of crucial importance.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr A. Broomfield for proofreading the manuscript.

Contributions

CG drafted the initial manuscript, HLT supervised the work and revised the manuscript. HLT will act as guarantor for this paper.

Conflict of Interest

None.

Source of Funding

NIHR Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, SW3 6NP, UK

    Christopher Grime & Hui-leng Tan

  2. National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK

    Christopher Grime & Hui-leng Tan

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  1. Christopher Grime
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  2. Hui-leng Tan
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Correspondence to Hui-leng Tan.

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Grime, C., Tan, Hl. Sleep Disordered Breathing in Children. Indian J Pediatr 82, 945–955 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-015-1857-5

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