Neurobehavioral Morbidity Associated With Disordered Breathing During Sleep in Children: A Comprehensive Review

There is strong evidence that childhood sleep-disordered breathing is associated with deficits in behavior and emotion regulation, scholastic performance, sustained attention, selective attention, and alertness and that SDB is a biologically plausible cause of neurobehavioral deficits.

Abstract

Childhood SDB is associated with neurobehavioral morbidity. Applying commonly used guidelines for causal inference, even in the absence of a much-needed randomized clinical trial, there is strong evidence of association, consistent findings, and specificity of effect. There is suggestive evidence that this association fits the expected temporal pattern and that SDB is a biologically plausible cause of neurobehavioral deficits. Clinicians should be alert to the coexistence of SDB symptoms and concerns about a child's academic progress, attention, arousal, or behavior or emotion regulation.