In a cohort study by American scientists, frequent snoring (more than three nights a week) in children was associated with more problematic behavior. As reported in JAMA Network Open, snoring did not affect cognitive abilities.
Snoring occurs due to the obstruction of air passage through the upper respiratory tract during sleep. The most common factors associated with snoring in children and adolescents are inflammation of the tonsils and obesity. And since snoring is one of the manifestations of sleep breathing disorders, doctors are trying to find out how snoring can be associated with the development of various diseases characteristic of these disorders.
For example, a large number of articles have reported negative associations of sleep-disordered breathing with neurobehavioral outcomes. Some studies have suggested that snoring may be the primary symptom of sleep-disordered breathing associated with cognitive and behavioral impairment. Regardless of its definition, sleep-disordered breathing is associated with poor academic performance, particularly in language, art, mathematics, science, and general learning difficulties. However, it remains unclear whether primary snoring has an impact on behavioral and cognitive functioning in preadolescent children.
A team of scientists led by Amal Isaiah of the University of Maryland evaluated data from a large prospective cohort study of 11,862 children whose parents rated their snoring frequency. To make calculations easier, the responses were divided into three groups: no snoring, infrequent snoring (one to two nights a week), and frequent snoring. The children were then assessed for behavioral and cognitive outcomes using a variety of scales and tests.
The average age of the children was 9.92 years. On average, the children were followed for five years. Cognitive tests did not reveal any significant differences in the results between the three snoring frequency groups. However, behavioral test scores showed significant behavioral deviations among children in the frequent snoring group (p < 0.001). When further adjusted, it turned out that behavior was most affected in children with snoring and obesity (p < 0.001). Among children without obesity, the overall behavioral problem score was positively associated with male gender and inversely associated with family income. Although snoring in children was not associated with decreased cognitive function in this study, the authors of the study consider the findings that snoring in children can lead to behavioral problems, especially in obese children, to be important. These results can help parents and doctors make joint decisions about the need for and effectiveness of snoring treatment in children. Previously, we talked about a pillow that protects a neighbor from the sounds of snoring.