Asthma is associated with increased probability of needing CPAP in children with severe obstructive sleep apnea

Risk and Protective Factors for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome Throughout Lifespan: From Pregnancy to Adolescence

BACKGROUND

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children is indeed a significant and often underdiagnosed condition. The risk factors for OSAS vary across different stages of life.

OBJECTIVES

Identifying risk factors early can help in taking preventive measures to reduce the likelihood of developing OSAS, and different life stages may require different interventions.

RESULTS

During pregnancy, maternal factors such as obesity, smoking, and genetic predispositions can increase the risk of OSAS, while breastfeeding serves as a protective factor. For children aged 2 to 12, adenotonsillar hypertrophy is the primary cause of airway narrowing, with other contributing factors including obesity, craniofacial abnormalities, and increased nasal resistance. In adolescence, obesity and craniofacial abnormalities remain the main risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS

By reviewing and understanding these risk factors, healthcare providers can offer more personalized and effective care, ultimately leading to better health outcomes for individuals at all stages of life.

Evaluation of Sleep Quality in Asthmatic Children with the Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ)

Considering the high prevalence of sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD) in asthmatic patients, we aimed to compare asthmatic children and healthy children in terms of SRBD according to Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) scores. A questionnaire covering sociodemographic characteristics of the patients and the PSQ, which evaluates sleep quality and consists of 22 questions, was administered. During the data collection process, 180 patients in the patient group and 170 patients in the control group were included. The patient group showed statistically significantly higher total scores and subscale scores for snoring, sleepiness, and inattention compared to the control group. Statistically significant correlations were found between the sleepiness subscale and body mass index z score in a negative direction and between age at presentation and duration of asthma in a positive direction. Our findings endorse employing the PSQ as a screening instrument in the outpatient environment to ensure timely referral of asthma patients to a sleep specialist for SRBD evaluation. Considering the widespread occurrence of snoring and asthma, this tool could aid in identifying patients with an elevated risk of SRBD and expedite the scheduling of nocturnal polysomnography for these children.

The Association between Asthma and OSA in Children

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and asthma are two of the most prevalent and commonly co-existing respiratory conditions seen in the pediatric population. Studies linking asthma and OSA in children are limited but indicate that there is a bi-directional relationship between them with significant overlap in the symptoms, risk factors, pathophysiology, comorbidities, and management. It is suggested that there is a reciprocal association between asthma predisposing to OSA, and OSA worsening symptom control and outcomes from asthma. It stands to reason that inflammation in the upper and/or lower airways can influence each other. Most of the pediatric literature that is available evaluates each aspect of this relationship independently such as risk factors, mechanisms, and treatment indications. This article highlights the relationship between OSA and asthma in the context of shared risk factors, pathophysiology, and available management recommendations in the pediatric population. Early recognition of the co-existence and association between OSA and asthma could ideally improve the treatment outcomes for these two conditions. Gaining a better understanding of the mechanism of this relationship can help identify nuances for medical management, optimize treatment and protect this population at risk from associated morbidity.

Paediatric asthma and non-allergic comorbidities: A review of current risk and proposed mechanisms

It is increasingly recognized that children with asthma are at a higher risk of other non-allergic concurrent diseases than the non-asthma population. A plethora of recent research has reported on these comorbidities and progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms for comorbidity. The goal of this review was to assess the most recent evidence (2016-2021) on the extent of common comorbidities (obesity, depression and anxiety, neurodevelopmental disorders, sleep disorders and autoimmune diseases) and the latest mechanistic research, highlighting knowledge gaps requiring further investigation. We found that the majority of recent studies from around the world demonstrate that children with asthma are at an increased risk of having at least one of the studied comorbidities. A range of potential mechanisms were identified including common early life risk factors, common genetic factors, causal relationships, asthma medication and embryologic origins. Studies varied in their selection of population, asthma definition and outcome definitions. Next, steps in future studies should include using objective measures of asthma, such as lung function and immunological data, as well as investigating asthma phenotypes and endotypes. Larger complex genetic analyses are needed, including genome-wide association studies, gene expression-functional as well as pathway analyses or Mendelian randomization techniques; and identification of gene-environment interactions, such as epi-genetic studies or twin analyses, including omics and early life exposure data. Importantly, research should have relevance to clinical and public health translation including clinical practice, asthma management guidelines and intervention studies aimed at reducing comorbidities.

Sex differences in the relationship of sleep-disordered breathing and asthma control among children with severe asthma

OBJECTIVE

Children with severe asthma are underrepresented in studies of the relationship of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and asthma and little is known about sex differences of these relationships. We sought to determine the relationship of SDB with asthma control and lung function among boys and girls within a pediatric severe asthma cohort.

METHODS

Patients attending clinic visits at the Boston Children's Hospital Pediatric Severe Asthma Program completed the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ), Asthma Control Test (ACT) and Spirometry. The prevalence of SDB was defined as a PSQ score >0.33. We analyzed the association between PSQ score and both ACT score and spirometry values in mixed effect models, testing interactions for age and sex.

RESULTS

Among 37 subjects, mean age was 11.8 years (4.4) and 23 (62.2%) were male, the prevalence of SDB was 43.2% (16/37). Including all 80 observations, there was a moderate negative correlation between PSQ and ACT scores (r=-0.46, p < 0.001). Multivariable linear regression models revealed a significant sex interaction with PSQ on asthma control (p = 0.003), such that for each 0.10 point increase in PSQ there was a 1.88 point decrease in ACT score for females but only 0.21 point decrease in ACT score for males. A positive PSQ screen was associated with a 9.44 point (CI 5.54, 13.34, p < 0.001) lower ACT score for females and a 3.22 point (CI 0.56, 5.88, p = 0.02) lower score for males.

CONCLUSIONS

SDB is common among children with severe asthma. Among children with severe asthma, SDB in girls portends to significantly worse asthma control than boys.

Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2021.1897838.

Asthma and obstructive sleep apnoea in adults and children - an up-to-date review

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and asthma are two common respiratory disorders in children and adults. Apart from common risk factors, such as obesity, gastroesophageal reflux disease and allergic rhinitis, emerging evidence suggest that the two diseases may complicate the clinical course of each other. On one hand, OSA modifies asthmatic airway inflammation and is associated with poor asthma control. On the other hand, asthma and its medications increase the collapsibility of the upper airways contributing to the development and worsening of OSA. The overnight respiratory symptoms of OSA and asthma are often similar, and an inpatient polysomnography is often necessary for a proper diagnosis, especially in children. Continuous positive pressure, the gold standard treatment for OSA can improve asthma control in patients suffering from both diseases. However, there is limited evidence how anti-asthma medications act in the same patients. Nevertheless, adenotonsillectomy seems to be effective in children with concomitant asthma and OSA. This review summarises the evidence for the bidirectional link between asthma and OSA, focuses on diagnostic and therapeutic challenges and highlights the need for further research.

Do not forget asthma comorbidities in pediatric severe asthma!

Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease in childhood. The long-term goals in managing asthma aim to control symptoms and prevent exacerbations, as well as to reduce side effects of therapy and mortality disease-related. Most of patients have mild to moderate asthma and respond well to standard therapies. However, a minor proportion of children with asthma has severe disease that remains uncontrolled despite optimal adherence to prescribed therapy and treatment of contributory factors, including trigger exposures and comorbidities, which can mimic or worsen asthma and contribute to exacerbations and poor quality of life. Evaluation of comorbidities is fundamental to optimize the management of the disease in a subgroup of patients with poor responder asthma. The overall aim of this article is to describe characteristics of main pediatric severe asthma comorbidities reported in literature, giving clinicians tools to recognize and manage properly these conditions.

Pediatric sleep questionnaire predicts more severe sleep apnea in children with uncontrolled asthma

OBJECTIVE

While up to 35% of children with asthma have evidence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB), it is unclear if nocturnal symptoms stem from asthma itself or SDB. The Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) is a validated tool for identifying SDB in childhood asthma. We hypothesize children with asthma and abnormal PSQ demonstrate decreased asthma control and are at higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

METHODS

We performed a retrospective, chart review of children and young adults referred to our tertiary children's hospital severe asthma clinic. Data collection included age, gender, BMI percentile, spirometry, PSQ, asthma control questionnaires, asthma severity, control, and impairment. These data were evaluated in the context of polysomnography, when available.

RESULTS

205 inner-city children were included; 37.2% female, median age 6.4 y, and mean BMI of 71.3%ile. Rhinitis (p = 0.028), eczema (p = 0.002), and reflux (p = 0.046) were associated with abnormal PSQ; however, overweight/obese status, spirometry, asthma severity, and serologic markers were not. After correcting for comorbidities, abnormal PSQ score was associated with poor asthma control based on validated measures (p < 0.001). In patients with polysomnography, we confirmed abnormal PSQ was associated with increased OSA severity (apnea-hypopnea index 9.1/hr vs. 3.6/hr; p = 0.027).

CONCLUSIONS

In pediatric asthma, positive PSQ was associated with significantly decreased asthma control. Additionally, children with normal PSQ demonstrated mild OSA, while children with abnormal PSQ had increased severity of OSA. This demonstrates that PSQ can be used to screen children for more severe sleep apnea.

Pediatric pulmonology year in review 2019: Sleep medicine

Pediatric Pulmonology publishes original research, review articles as well as case reports on a wide variety of pediatric respiratory disorders. In this article, we summarize the past year's publications in sleep medicine and we review selected literature from other journals within this field. Articles highlighted are topics on risk factors of sleep-disordered breathing, diagnosis, and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea as well as the utility of polysomnography in various complex conditions.

Clinical features and risk factors in patients with asthma complicated with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome: a hospital-based study

PURPOSE

The current study was conducted to explore the clinical features and risk factors of patients with asthma complicated by obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).

METHODS

Patients with asthma who underwent polysomnography in our hospital from August 2017 to December 2019 were enrolled in the study. Data on demographics, pulmonary function testing, polysomnography, blood gases, mean pulmonary artery pressure, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

Of 238 patients with asthma, 93 who also had OSAHS formed the observation group and were subclassified into mild (n = 33), moderate (n = 41), and severe (n = 19) categories, while 145 patients with asthma alone were assigned to the control group. No significant differences were found in sex, age, course of disease, or pulmonary function between the two groups (P > 0.05), while the observation group showed more frequent allergic rhinitis and had greater BMI, neck circumference, mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP), and VEGF than those in the control group (P < 0.001). The peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁), forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV₁/FVC in the mild group and the moderate group were higher than those in the severe group (P < 0.001). The durations of AHI and SaO₂ < 90% in the mild group and the moderate group were shorter than that in the severe group, and the lowest level of SaO₂ in the mild group and the moderate group was higher than that in the severe group (P <  0.05). The mPAP and VEGF of the mild and moderate groups were lower than those of severe group (P < 0.001), with mild group lower than moderate group (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Significant differences in allergic rhinitis, BMI, neck circumference, AHI, SaO2, mPAP, and VEGF were observed in patients with asthma complicated by OSAHS. These parameters are risk factors associated with asthma complicated by OSAHS.

[Medical treatment of obstructive sleep-disordered breathing in children and adolescents]

Obstructive sleep disordered breathing (OSDB), in children and adolescents, need to be treated quite soon to avoid complications. A paediatrician, a sleep specialist, an orthodontist, an ENT and a myofunctional therapist will examine together the children with OSDB and determine the best personalised surgical and medical treatments for each of them. Only medical treatments are reviewed in this article. An international consensus recommended adenotonsillectomy as the first line therapy in young with OSDB. Usually adenotonsillectomy is combined with several important adjunctive medical treatments. Overweight and obesity frequent in adolescents, worsen OSDB and increase persistent OSDB after adenotonsillectomy. Weight loss is obtained by dietary restriction, physical activity, psychological support and sleep hygiene rules. Anti-inflammatory drugs (corticosteroids and leukotriene receptor antagonists) have shown their efficacy in children with moderate OSDB. Orthodontic treatments, rapid maxillary expansion or oral appliance, are used in selected patients according to their maxillo-facial disturbances in adjunction to adenotonsillectomy. Nasal CPAP is rarely useful except in severe OSDB specially in persistent OSDB after adenotonsillectomy. Finally, active or passive, myofunctional therapy is, according to some authors, an indispensable adjunct treatment to avoid persistent OSDB after adenotonsillectomy. These personalized medical treatments of OSDB are either administered jointly with adenotonsillectomy or in a hierarchal order.