Incidence of sleep disorders in children with presumed normal variant short stature.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether unrecognized obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is present in some children diagnosed with normal variant short stature.

METHODS

One hundred and fifty-eight children aged less than 15 years and previously diagnosed with familial short stature or constitutional delay of growth were identified from the endocrine clinic database. A validated, standardized questionnaire designed to screen for symptoms of sleep disorders in children was mailed to the parents of eligible children.

RESULTS

Fifty-three questionnaires were returned. Fifteen of these had an abnormal score (greater than the mean + three standard deviations in 1157 normal control children). Of these, 10 agreed to a sleep study. Overnight polysomnography showed no evidence of OSA or other sleep/breathing disorders. However, five (half) children showed frequent periodic leg movements of 6.3, 9.2, 9.4, 10.2 and 15.4 per h (adult normal <5 per h).

CONCLUSIONS

We did not find OSA among a group of children with normal variant short stature. However, we found frequent periodic limb movements during sleep in a large proportion of the subjects, the significance of which remains to be determined.