Relation between asthma and sleep disordered breathing in children: is the association causal?. (March 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Castro-Rodriguez, Jose A.; Brockmann, Pablo E.; Marcus, Carole L.
• Is Part Of: Paediatric respiratory reviews. Volume 22(2017)
• Page Start: 72
• Page End: 75
• Publication Date: 2017-03
• Subjects: AHI apnoea hypopnea index -- BMI body mass index -- IL interleukin -- LMI leg movement index -- LOS length of stay -- LTRA leukotriene antagonist -- OSA obstructive sleep apnoea -- OAHI obstructive apnoea–hypopnea index -- OR odds ratio -- NREM non-rapid eye movement -- PSG polysomnography -- REM rapid eye movement -- SBD sleep disordered breathing -- TNF tumour necrosis factor; asthma -- sleep disordered breathing -- childhood -- causality -- epidemiology -- obstructive sleep apnoea.; Pediatric respiratory diseases -- Periodicals; Respiratory organs -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Respiratory Tract Diseases -- Periodicals; Respiratory Therapy -- Periodicals; Child -- Periodicals; Appareil respiratoire -- Infections, chez l'enfant -- Périodiques; Appareil respiratoire -- Maladies, chez l'enfant -- Périodiques; 618.922
• DOI: 10.1016/j.prrv.2016.08.010
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1526-0542

Abstract

Summary: Over the last few decades, asthma and sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in children have experienced similar increases in prevalence, and have both been shown to have airway inflammation, leading investigators to postulate an association between asthma and SDB. However, whether this relationship is causal or not needs to be proven. In this manuscript, we use the most widely accepted epidemiologic criteria for causality, the Bradford Hill criteria, to test step-by-step whether the relation between asthma and SBD in children is causal or not. We found studies supporting 8 of the 9 criteria (strength, consistency, specificity, biological gradient, coherence and biological plausibility, experiment, and analogy) for association between asthma and SDB. However, we did not find any study showing temporality or directionality between asthma and SDB. Therefore, establishing a causal association between asthma and SDB is not yet possible.