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 had no effect on cognitive abilities.
Snoring occurs due to obstruction of airflow through the upper airway during sleep. The most common factors associated with snoring in children and adolescents are tonsillitis and obesity. Since snoring is one of the manifestations of sleep-disordered breathing, doctors are trying to determine the extent to which snoring may be associated with the development of various diseases characteristic of these disorders.
For example, numerous articles have noted a negative association between sleep-disordered breathing and neurobehavioral outcomes. Some studies suggest that snoring is the primary symptom of sleep-disordered breathing, linked to cognitive and behavioral impairments. Regardless of its definition, sleep-disordered breathing is associated with poor academic performance, particularly in languages, art, mathematics, science, and general learning disabilities. However, whether primary snoring impacts behavioral and cognitive functioning in preadolescent children remains unclear.
A team of researchers led by Amal Isaiah of the University of Maryland evaluated data from a large prospective cohort study involving 11,862 children whose parents rated their snoring frequency. For ease of calculation, responses were divided into three groups: no snoring, infrequent snoring (one to two nights a week), and frequent snoring. The children's behavioral and cognitive outcomes were then assessed using various scales and tests.
The average age of the children was 9.92 years. The children were followed for an average of five years. Cognitive tests revealed no significant differences in 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). Further adjustment revealed that behavioral problems were most severe in children with snoring and obesity (p < 0.001). Among non-obese children, 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 consider the findings that snoring in children can lead to behavioral problems, especially in obese children, to be important. These results may help parents and doctors collaborate in making decisions regarding the need and effectiveness of snoring treatment in children. We previously reported on a pillow that protects a neighbor from the sound of snoring.
