2023 Volume 36 Issue 2 Pages 199-204
During sleep, not only adults but also children repeatedly change positions from supine, lateral, and prone, but the relationship between position changes and apnea hypopnea index （AHI） has not been investigated. In addition, parents at outpatient clinics often say that their children frequently change positions during sleep and have poor sleeping habits, but there has been no actual examination and evaluation. In this study, we investigated the relationship between postural changes during sleep and AHI in adults and children, and the status of postural changes during sleep and postural changes by asking questions in only children. The subjects were 396 patients aged from 0 to 86 who visited the otolaryngology department of Fujita Medical University Bantane hospital between November 2018 and December 2019, had suspected sleep-disordered breathing, and underwent the first all-night polysomnography. As the children grew older, the high correlation between postural changes and AHI gradually disappeared, and no correlation was found between 9 and 14 years of age. Since the questioning revealed no significant correlation between the child’s postural changes and the status of postural changes, it is important to perform PSG in addition to questioning alone. There is a positive correlation between the postural change index and AHI in younger children. We hypothesize that children may change their position to avoid apnea.
