Toddlers’ Hearts Hit Hard by Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

A new study presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society in Toronto suggests that obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in children below the age of 3 years might put strain on their heart and cause inflammation. The study was conducted by researchers at Soraka Medical Center, Ben Gurion University in Israel.

OSA is a breathing disorder in which the airway becomes blocked during sleep. This results in a temporary halt in breathing and repeated disruption in sleep. The main symptoms of OSA in children are snoring, abnormal or disturbed breathing, and inconsistent or disturbed sleeping patterns. Studies estimate that 1 to 3 percent of children suffer from OSA.

The study by Dr. Aviv Goldbart and colleagues is the first one to connect OSA in very young children with cardiovascular health problems when they are older. All the children covered under the study were in the age range of 12 to 26 months and were undergoing adenotonsillectomy, a procedure that removes enlarged tonsils and adenoids to treat OSA.

Prior to the surgery, Dr. Goldbart’s team found that levels of NTproBNP, a peptide marker of heart strain were notably higher in 46 children with OSA compared to those found in 22 control children who did not have OSA. Levels of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein, or CRP were also found to be significantly higher in the children with OSA compared to the control children.

Additionally, the researchers found a strong correlation between the severity of night time hypoxia (low oxygen) caused due to OSA and abnormal heart function. Three months after having undergone adenotonsillectomy, the researchers found that average NTproBNP and CRP levels in 20 of the children had fallen below that of the control children.

“We showed that adenotonsillectomy – the chosen treatment for children with sleep apnoea – causes a significant decrease in inflammation and the strain of the heart,” Dr. Goldbart said. Increased CRP levels in children with OSA may require cardiovascular assessment, he added, “but further studies are needed to first determine the need to diagnose and treat OSA at a very young age.”

The research team now plans to conduct a follow up study to asses the risk of heart related ailments faced by young children with OSA if they also have abnormal heart function.

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