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| Professor Rosemary Horne |
New research from Monash University – that will
continue to be undertaken at the newly opened MonashChildren’s Hospital -
reveals this snoring is not harmless but may have long term cardiovascular,
neurocognitive and behavioural implications.
Monash Professor Rosemary Horne and her team studied
136 children aged 7-12 years and 128 children aged 3-5 years to examine the
consequences of snoring and OSA. Children were then followed up three to four
years later to examine the effects of treatment or resolution of symptoms.
The team found that pre-school children who snore had normal
blood pressure and neurocognitive development but had increased reports of poor
behaviour. The older, school aged children (7-12 years) had:
·
Increased blood pressure of
10-15 mmHg
·
Increased reports of poor
behaviour
·
Reduced intellectual ability
When they were followed up, any improvement in
severity of snoring or OSA was associated with improvements in blood pressure
and behaviour but not cognitive function. According to Professor Horne, the findings
that consequences are more severe in older children indicate that the long term
effects of snoring are cumulative, impacting on the child’s cardiovascular
health, as well as on long term behaviour, learning and cognitive development.
Previous studies have shown that oxygen concentration
in the blood (measured with a sensor on the finger) is the same between the
snoring children and those that didn’t snore – suggesting that low oxygen is
either not the explanation for the findings or the current methods of measuring
this may not be sensitive enough.
Professor Horne is currently using MRI scans and
direct non-invasive measurements of oxygen levels in the brain to determine
whether there are more subtle effects of oxygen deprivation happening in the
brains of children who snore, affecting blood pressure and behaviour.
Professor Horne said the most common cause of
childhood snoring is enlarged tonsils and adenoids. More than 50,000 Australian
children have a tonsillectomy and/or an adenoidectomy each year, many of which
are for sleep apnoea.
“Our results indicate that snoring and sleep apnoea have important implications for children’s health and parents should consider getting medical advice about the need for surgery,” Professor Horne said.
“Our results indicate that snoring and sleep apnoea have important implications for children’s health and parents should consider getting medical advice about the need for surgery,” Professor Horne said.
The MRI study, led by Professor Horne, will continue
in the Melbourne Children’s Sleep Centre in the new Monash Children’s Hospital.
