• Albert M Li, Chun T Au, Crystal Ng, Hugh S Lam, Crover K W Ho, and Yun K Wing.
• Chest. 2014 Jun 1;145(6):1255-1263.

BackgroundChildhood OSA is a prevalent condition associated with raised BP as documented in cross-sectional studies. This study aimed to determine whether baseline or change in OSA severity was associated with ambulatory BP at 4-year follow-up.MethodsChildren who participated in our previous OSA prevalence research were invited to undergo a repeat overnight sleep study and 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring in this 4-year follow-up study. BP parameters of subjects with differing baseline OSA severity, that is, obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (OAHI) < 1/h, 1 to 5/h, and > 5/h, were compared. Overweight and normal-weight children were analyzed separately.ResultsOne hundred eighty-five of 306 subjects (60%) were included in the analysis, of whom 58 were overweight at baseline. Linear increasing trends of wake systolic BP (SBP), wake diastolic BP (DBP), and sleep SBP z scores at follow-up were found across groups of increasing baseline OSA severity in the normal weight but not in the overweight subgroup. After adjusting for BMI z score, baseline OAHI was independently associated with all BP z scores at follow-up but not associated with changes in BP z scores across 4 years. On the other hand, change in OAHI was independently associated with sleep SBP and DBP z scores at follow-up and with changes in sleep SBP and DBP z scores across 4 years.ConclusionsThis study provides longitudinal data as additional proof that childhood OSA is associated with elevated BP independent of obesity.

39 keywords...

hide…