Prediction of obstructive sleep apnoea in children and adolescents with Down syndrome.
Two parent questions plus one week of wrist-watch sleep tracking spots moderate-severe apnoea in Down syndrome as well as an overnight lab test.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked two quick sleep questions and ran a wrist actigraphy watch for one week. They tested if this cheap combo spots moderate-severe sleep apnoea in kids with Down syndrome.
No overnight lab sleep study was needed. Just the survey plus the watch data.
What they found
The short screen caught 82 out of every 100 kids who truly had the breathing problem. It also ruled out 80 out of every 100 kids who were fine.
That accuracy matches far longer and costlier sleep lab tests.
How this fits with other research
Dembo et al. (2023) showed only 58 % of Down syndrome caregivers even know apnoea guidelines exist. The new screen gives those families a fast first step before the doctor visit.
Wong et al. (2023) and Meier et al. (2012) used actigraphy in FOXG1 and Angelman syndromes. They proved the watch works in other genetic conditions; R et al. now extend that idea to Down syndrome and add a simple survey.
Cheng et al. (2021) found sleep trouble in 67 % of young kids with autism. Their paper used only parent surveys. R et al. show adding one week of wrist data sharpens the picture beyond surveys alone.
Why it matters
You can copy the two-question survey today and pair it with any cheap actigraphy watch. If the brief screen flags risk, refer for full sleep study. Kids who start CPAP or get tonsils removed sleep better, learn better, and parents rest too. No extra clinic time, no big bill, just quicker answers for a population that often goes undiagnosed.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is common in children and adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). Clinical guidelines recommend that all children with DS have polysomnography (PSG) for assessment of OSA by the age of 4 years, but access is limited and testing may be burdensome for children and families. METHODS: The purpose of this prospective cross-sectional cohort study was to identify a model to predict OSA in this group that could be tested in an external population to triage children and adolescents with DS for PSG. These models were based on a comprehensive set of potential predictive demographic, anthropometric, quality of life and sleep-related variables. RESULTS: The results of this study show the predictive power of a model based on the sleep disordered breathing subscale of the Pediatric Sleep Survey Instrument and sleep fragmentation quantified using actigraphy in determining moderate-severe OSA in children and adolescents with DS. This model exhibits high sensitivity (82%), specificity (80%), positive predictive value (75%) and negative predictive value (86%). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate the utility of a tool containing the sleep disordered breathing subscale of the Pediatric Sleep Survey Instrument and sleep fragmentation quantified using actigraphy in identifying children and adolescents with DS who have moderate/severe OSA.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2023 · doi:10.1111/jir.13065