Wellham A, Kim C, Kwok S S, Lee Rjh, Naoum S, Razza J M, Goonewardene M S
Dental School, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia.
School of Dentistry, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia.
Aust Dent J. 2023 Mar;68(1):26-34. doi: 10.1111/adj.12945. Epub 2022 Nov 22.
The prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in children is underestimated due to impediments in detection and diagnosis. Consequently, delayed management may affect the quality of life and the growth and development of a child. Due to their patient demographic, orthodontists are optimally positioned to identify those at risk of sleep-disordered breathing and make referrals for investigation and management. This study aims to determine the prevalence of children at risk of sleep-disordered breathing in an Australian orthodontic population.
A 1-year retrospective study was conducted in an urban Western Australian private orthodontic practice with two branches in similar socioeconomic demographics. The responses of new patients to a modified paediatric sleep questionnaire and standard medical history form were recorded.
In 1209 patients (4-18 years), 7.3% were at risk of sleep-disordered breathing. An association between sex and the potential risk of sleep-disordered breathing was found with 11% of males at risk of sleep-disordered breathing compared to 7% of females (P = 0.012).
The relatively high prevalence of children at risk of sleep-disordered breathing presenting for orthodontic care presents an opportunity to identify at-risk individuals through routine use of the paediatric sleep questionnaire. This would facilitate early referral for diagnosis and management of sleep-disordered breathing.
由于检测和诊断存在障碍，儿童睡眠呼吸障碍的患病率被低估。因此，治疗延迟可能会影响儿童的生活质量以及生长发育。鉴于正畸医生的患者群体特点，他们处于最佳位置来识别有睡眠呼吸障碍风险的儿童，并进行转诊以便进一步检查和治疗。本研究旨在确定澳大利亚正畸患者中有睡眠呼吸障碍风险的儿童的患病率。
在西澳大利亚州一个城市的一家有两个分支机构且社会经济人口统计学特征相似的私立正畸诊所进行了一项为期1年的回顾性研究。记录了新患者对一份修改后的儿童睡眠问卷和标准病史表格的回答。
在1209名患者（4 - 18岁）中，7.3%有睡眠呼吸障碍风险。发现性别与睡眠呼吸障碍潜在风险之间存在关联，11%的男性有睡眠呼吸障碍风险，而女性为7%（P = 0.012）。
前来接受正畸治疗的有睡眠呼吸障碍风险的儿童患病率相对较高，这为通过常规使用儿童睡眠问卷来识别高危个体提供了机会。这将有助于早期转诊以诊断和治疗睡眠呼吸障碍。
