Obesity and Ethnicity: Obstructive Sleep Apnea Risk Factors Poorly Represented in Sleep Apnea Screening Questionnaires. (1st June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chaudhry, A; Nguyen, L; Constantin, E
• Is Part Of: Paediatrics & Child Health. Volume 21(2016)Supplement 5
• Page Start: e74a
• Page End: e74a
• Publication Date: 2016-06-01
• Subjects: Pediatrics -- Periodicals; Children -- Health and hygiene -- Periodicals; 618.92
• DOI: 10.1093/pch/21.supp5.e74a
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1205-7088

Abstract

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The gold standard for the diagnosis of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is polysomnography, a resource-intensive tool that is not easily accessible. It has been shown thatquestionnaires cannot accurately diagnose OSA in children. However, questionnaires are often used as screening tools for OSA to help clinicians prioritize objective sleep testing in sleep laboratories. Although many tools exist to screen for OSA, there is significant variability in the elements they take into consideration. OBJECTIVES: To identify all questionnaires that screen for OSA in children and to review and contrast items within these questionnaires. DESIGN/METHODS: We conducted a review of the literature to identify all questionnaires for pediatric OSA. We searched PubMed (keywords: sleep disordered breathing, OSA, sleep apnea and risk factor) and the health and psychosocial instruments (HaPi) database. We also checked reference lists of all included articles. Questionnaires were included in the analysis if their primary goal was to identify or screen for pediatric OSA in children 0-18 years old. We described the questionnaires qualitatively by identifying all items within each questionnaire, including demographics, risk factors, signs, symptoms, and outcomes. RESULTS: The search yielded 476 articles. After reviewing titles and abstracts, 130 articles were included of which 60 articles were deemed relevant for final analysis based on predetermined inclusion criteria. Forty-two questionnaires were identified. Thirty-two questionnaires containing 48 different items were included in the analysis. Items most commonly included in questionnaires were: snoring (78%), observed apnea (78%) and daytime sleepiness (75%). Other clinically relevant items, such as ethnicity (6%), and body mass index (31%), were not consistently included. Thirty-one questionnaires used quantitative scores to identify OSA. One questionnaire derived a formula to identify OSA, in which certain items (risk factors) were assigned relative weights. Moreover, most questionnaires sought to predict the diagnosis of OSA without emphasis on OSA severity. CONCLUSION: There are currently several questionnaires that aim to screen children for OSA. However, these questionnaires rarely include known OSA risk factors such as ethnicityand obesityand are not able to screen for OSA severity.