New research has revealed that very young children with obstructive sleep apnea who sleep on their backs appear to have more respiratory problems, as measured by increases in the respiratory disturbance index (RDI).
According to the authors of the study, the severity of the &to=http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/379/10717_snoring.html' target=_blank>apnea could be underestimated in children who do not spend much time in this position.
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a condition in which airways become blocked periodically during sleep and breathing stops for brief periods.
Dr. Kevin D. Pereira and colleagues, from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, say that symptoms improve in adults with this condition when they avoid the supine position.
In order to assess the effect of &to=http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/363/15253_masochist.html' target=_blank>body position on sleep apnea in children 3 years of age or younger, the team analyzed data from 60 children with the condition who underwent polysomnography, a test used to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea, reports News-Medical.net.
However, researchers are not making new recommendations about sleep positions. "We cannot comment on the relevance of our findings to the practice of putting infants to sleep on their backs to avoid sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)," Pereira's team indicates.
Half a million American children have obstructive sleep apnea, noted Pereira and colleagues. Pereira is on staff in the center's department of otolaryngology -- head and neck surgery. Sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, is the sudden and unexplained death of an infant under 1 year of age. Its cause is not known yet, reports Xinhua.
O.Ch.
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