Health-related quality of life and depressive symptoms in children with suspected sleep-disordered breathing

Objectives: Snoring and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) are highly prevalent among children. The increasing trends of obesity in the pediatric population further predict an exacerbation of this public health problem. However, the impact of SDB on mood and quality of life and the confounder effect of obesity in this setting are unclear. Design: We studied a group of 85 clinically referred children, aged 8 to 12 years, with snoring and suspected SDB and 35 asymptomatic children (controls). All children completed validated questionnaires for the presence of depression (Children's Depression Inventory) and for health-related quality of life (PedsQL(TM)), and parents completed the Parent Report version of the PedsQL(TM) . Children referred to the Sleep Medicine Center for sleep-disordered breathing were further subdivided according to their body mass index > 95% for age and sex (n = 44) and with BMI < 95% for age and sex as ClinN1 (n = 41). Results: Parentally reported quality of life and physical health differed between obese and nonobese children. However, both groups with SDB had more-impaired quality of life and depressive symptoms than did controls. Conclusions: Children with suspected SDB, regardless of the severity of apnea-hypopnea index or the presence of obesity, had more impairments in quality of life and depressive symptoms than did children who did not snore.