Associations among High Risk for Sleep-disordered Breathing, Related Risk Factors, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Symptoms in Elementary School Children

OBJECTIVE: Habitual snoring is a common problem in children. We evaluated the association between a high risk for sleep-disordered breathing and attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms. METHODS: Parents of 13,560 children aged 6 to 12 years responded to questionnaires including items on habitual snoring and the Korean attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder rating scale. The snoring score comprised the number of “yes” responses to habitual-snoring items, and a high risk for sleep-disordered breathing was defined as a snoring score ≥ 2. RESULTS: The odds ratio (OR) of a high risk for sleep-disordered breathing was significantly higher in boys (OR = 1.47; p < 0.001), overweight children (OR = 2.20; p < 0.001), and children with current secondhand-smoking exposure (OR = 1.38; p < 0.001). The Korean attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder rating scale score increased significantly with the snoring score (0 vs. 1, B = 1.56, p < 0.001; 0 vs. 2, B = 2.44, p < 0.001; 0 vs. 3, B = 2.48, p < 0.001; 0 vs. 4, B = 3.95; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our study confirms several risk factors of sleep-disordered breathing, namely male sex, overweight, and exposure to tobacco smoking, and found a positive association between habitual snoring and attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms.