Assessment of the risk of sleep-disordered breathing and its contributing factors in the pediatric orthodontic population: A cross-sectional study

Background. Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is a group of disorders that can affect the upper airway by increasing the chances of collapsibility during sleep. Objectives. The primary objective of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of pediatric SDB in the orthodontic population using the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ). The secondary objective was to assess the factors associated with pediatric SDB in the orthodontic population. Material and methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 60 children aged 7–12 years who attended the orthodontic clinics at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. The parents/guardians of the patients were asked to complete a validated PSQ and an additional health history questionnaire regarding the factors associated with SDB. The risk of SDB was reported for the pediatric orthodontic population. Logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the factors associated with SDB in the pediatric orthodontic population. Results. A score suggestive of a high risk for SDB (≥33%) was found in 12 (20%) out of 60 patients. Patients with a history of allergies were 3.96 times more likely to have SDB (p = 0.049). In comparison with female patients, male patients had a higher susceptibility to SDB. Conclusions. The prevalence of SDB was found to be 20% in the pediatric orthodontic population. The frequency of allergies was higher among the patients in the high-risk SDB group. Orthodontic practitioners are advised to incorporate routine SDB screening into their clinical practice, as there could be a specific subgroup of SDB patients that may go undetected in general pediatric clinics.