Daniel Combs

Longitudinal differences in sleep duration in Hispanic and Caucasian children

BACKGROUND AND AIM Short sleep duration is associated with significant negative consequences, including poor school performance, behavioral problems, obesity, and hypertension. There is prior evidence that there are disparities in sleep duration related to ethnicity; however, there are no specific data on Hispanic children. We aimed to test the hypothesis that there are ethnic differences in parent-reported sleep duration in a community-based cohort of Hispanic and Caucasian children. METHODS We examined the parent-reported sleep patterns of a community-based prospective cohort (Tucson Childrens Assessment of Sleep Apnea study [TuCASA]) involving 338 Hispanic and Caucasian children at two time points approximately five years apart. RESULTS In the initial phase of the TuCASA study with a cohort median age of 8.8 years (interquartile range (IQR), 7.6-10.1 years), parent-reported sleep duration during weekdays was shorter in Hispanic (median, 9.5 h; IQR, 9.0, 10.0 years) than in Caucasian children (10 h; IQR, 9.5, 10.0 h; p < 0.0001); however, this difference was not seen 5 years later when the cohort was older (median age, 13.3 years; IQR, 11.9-14.6 years; p = 0.43). In addition, Hispanic children had a significantly later bedtime at both time points (p < 0.02). In the initial phase, parent-reported sleep duration during weekends tended to be shorter in Hispanic than in Caucasian children (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS Short sleep duration in Hispanic children may contribute to health disparities. Our research suggests that in Hispanic children, behavioral interventions toward improving sleep duration accomplished by earlier bedtimes or delayed school start times and mechanistic studies to unravel any inherent tendency toward a delayed sleep phase are needed.

Implementation of Sleep and Circadian Science: Recommendations from the Sleep Research Society and National Institutes of Health Workshop.

Sairam Parthasarathy, MD1; Mary A. Carskadon, PhD2,3; Girardin Jean-Louis, PhD4; Judith Owens, MD, MPH5; Adam Bramoweth, PhD6; Daniel Combs, MD1; Lauren Hale, PhD7; Elizabeth Harrison, PhD8; Chantelle N. Hart, PhD9; Brant P. Hasler, PhD10; Sarah M. Honaker, PhD, CBSM11; Elisabeth Hertenstein, PhD12; Samuel Kuna, MD13; Clete Kushida, MD, PhD14; Jessica C. Levenson, PhD10; Caitlin Murray, MA15; Allan I. Pack, MD, PhD13; Vivek Pillai, PhD16; Kristi Pruiksma, PhD17; Azizi Seixas, PhD4; Patrick Strollo, MD18; Saurabh S. Thosar, PhD19; Natasha Williams, MD4; Daniel Buysse, MD6

Cerebrovascular reactivity in young subjects with sleep apnea

STUDY OBJECTIVES Regional brain alterations may be involved in the pathogenesis and adverse consequences of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The objectives for the current study were to (1) determine cerebrovascular reactivity in the motor areas that control upper airway musculature in patients with OSA, and (2) determine whether young patients with OSA have decreased cerebrovascular reactivity in response to breath holding. DESIGN Case-control study. SETTING Academic center. PARTICIPANTS Twelve subjects with OSA (age 24-42 y; apnea-hypopnea index 17; interquartile range [IQR] 9, 69 per hour) and control subjects (n = 10; age 29-44 y; AHI 2; IQR 1, 3 per hour). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Subjects underwent blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI) while awake, swallowing, and breath holding. In subjects with OSA, during swallowing, there was less activity in the brainstem than in controls (P = 0.03) that remained reduced after adjusting for cortical motor strip activity (P = 0.036). In OSA subjects, brain regions of increased cerebrovascular reactivity (38; IQR 17, 96 cm(3)) was smaller than that in controls (199; IQR 5, 423 cm(3); P = 0.01). In OSA subjects, brain regions of decreased cerebrovascular reactivity during breath hold was greater (P = 0.01), and the ratio of increased-to-decreased brain regions was lower than that of controls (P = 0.006). Adjustment for cerebral volumes, body mass index, and white matter lesions did not change these results substantively. CONCLUSIONS In patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), diminished change in brainstem activity during swallowing and reduced cerebrovascular reactivity may contribute to the etiopathogenesis and adverse cerebrovascular consequences, respectively. We speculate that decreased cerebral auto-regulation may be causative of gray matter loss in OSA.

Incidence of delirium in children with cancer.

There are limited data on the incidence of delirium in children with cancer. We performed a retrospective chart review of all pediatric oncology admissions over a 1 year period to determine the incidence of delirium in this population. We identified seven patients with delirium (10% incidence). Delirium is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and is likely under‐recognized in this population. Improved diagnosis and treatment of delirium may improve outcomes in children with cancer. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2014;61:2094–2095.

Sleep: important considerations for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Purpose of review Sleep plays many roles in maintenance of cardiovascular health. This review summarizes the literature across several areas of sleep and sleep disorders in relation to cardiometabolic disease risk factors. Recent findings Insufficient sleep duration is prevalent in the population and is associated with weight gain and obesity, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and mortality. Insomnia is also highly present and represents an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, especially when accompanied by short sleep duration. Sleep apnea is a well-characterized risk factor for cardiometabolic disease and cardiovascular mortality. Other issues are relevant as well. For example, sleep disorders in pediatric populations may convey cardiovascular risks. Also, sleep may play an important role in cardiovascular health disparities. Summary Sleep and sleep disorders are implicated in cardiometabolic disease risk. This review addresses these and other issues, concluding with recommendations for research and clinical practice.

Modified STOP-Bang Tool for Stratifying Obstructive Sleep Apnea Risk in Adolescent Children

Purpose Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is prevalent in children and diagnostic polysomnography is costly and not readily available in all areas. We developed a pediatric modification of a commonly used adult clinical prediction tool for stratifying the risk of OSA and the need for polysomnography. Methods A total of 312 children (age 9–17 years) from phase 2 of the Tucson Children’s Assessment of Sleep Apnea cohort study, with complete anthropomorphic data, parent questionnaires, and home polysomnograms were included. An adolescent modification of STOP-Bang (teen STOP-Bang) was developed and included snoring, tired, observed apnea, blood pressure ≥ 95th percentile, BMI > 95th percentile, academic problems, neck circumference >95th percentile for age, and male gender. An apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 1.5 events/hour was considered diagnostic of OSA. Results Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves for parent-reported STOP-Bang scores were generated for teenage and pre-teen children. A STOP-Bang score of < 3 in teenagers was associated with a negative predictive value of 0.96. ROC curves were also generated based upon child-reported sexual maturity rating (SMR; n = 291). The ability of teen STOP-Bang to discriminate the presence or absence of OSA as measured by the AUC for children with SMR ≥ 4 (0.83; 95%CI 0.71–0.95) was better than children with SMR < 4 (0.63; 95%CI 0.46–0.81; p = 0.048). Conclusions In community dwelling adolescents, teen STOP-Bang may be useful in stratifying the risk of OSA.

Insomnia, Health-Related Quality of Life and Health Outcomes in Children: A Seven Year Longitudinal Cohort

Insomnia is common in children, and is associated with decreased school performance and increased psychopathology. Although adult insomnia is linked to worsened health-related quality of life (HRQOL), there is insufficient data evaluating insomnia and HRQOL in children. We examined the HRQOL and health associations of insomnia in a longitudinal cohort of 194 children (96 girls, age at study start 8.7 ± 1.6 years, age at data analysis 15.0 ± 1.8 years) over 7 years. International Classification of Sleep Disorders, second edition (ICSD2) derived insomnia was seen intermittently in 27% of children, and was persistent in 4%. Children reporting ICSD2-derived insomnia had lower HRQOL. Additionally, the presence of insomnia was associated with an increased risk of reporting a new medical condition (intermittent insomnia odds ratio 5.9 [95% CI 1.3–26.7, p = 0.04], persistent insomnia odds ratio 8 [95% CI 2.3–27.7, p = 0.001]). Persistent ICSD2-derived insomnia was associated with an increased risk of reporting a new medication (odds ratio 4.9 (95% CI 1.0–23.6), p = 0.049), and reporting a new psychiatric medication (odds ratio 13.7, 95% CI: 2.6–73.5, p = 0.002). These associations were present even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors and the presence of obstructive sleep apnea. Insomnia in children is associated with worsened HRQOL and health outcomes.

Impact of Sleep Duration and Weekend Oversleep on Body Weight and Blood Pressure in Adolescents

Introduction Weekend oversleep or catchup sleep is a frequent occurrence in children, but there are relatively little data concerning its impact on weight and blood pressure. The aim of this study was to assess the association between sleep duration and oversleep, and weight and blood pressure in adolescents. Methods Sleep duration, weight and blood pressure of 327 children (51.4% boys, mean age 13.3 ± 1.7 years) who had polysomnograms performed during both exam cycles of the Tucson Childrens Assessment of Sleep Apnea study (TuCASA) were analyzed. Sleep duration on school nights and non-school nights was used to compute a weighted average of child and parent reported overall sleep duration respectively. Oversleep was defined as the difference between self and parent reported weekend sleep and weekday sleep separately. Simple correlations between overall sleep duration, sleep on school and non-school nights and oversleep, and blood pressure, standardized body mass index (BMI), snoring, respiratory disturbance index (RDI) and age were calculated. Significant bivariate associations then were used to develop multivariate partial correlation models. Results Unadjusted negative correlations with BMI were noted for parent reported total sleep duration at the 1st exam cycle, parent and child reported total sleep and school night sleep duration, and parent reported non-school night sleep duration at the 2nd exam cycle. Additionally, for BMI, positive correlations were observed for log RDI at both exam cycles and snoring at the 2nd exam cycle. For blood pressure, there were positive associations with age, parent reported oversleep, caffeine consumption and snoring. Additionally, for blood pressure, negative relationships were observed with parent reported total sleep duration at the 1st exam cycle, and parent and child reported total sleep and school night sleep durations at the 2nd exam cycle. Partial correlations found that BMI was negatively correlated with parent reported total sleep duration at the 1st exam cycle and parent reported total sleep duration at the 2nd exam cycle, and positively correlated with snoring and log RDI at both exam cycles. Systolic blood pressure was only associated with age and snoring. Diastolic blood pressure was positively correlated with age and caffeine consumption, and negatively correlated with parent reported total and school night sleep duration. Oversleep and child reported sleep duration were not represented in any of these models. Conclusion Lower amounts of sleep especially on school nights is associated with higher body weight and blood pressure. Oversleep was not associated with either body weight or blood pressure.

Unanticipated Nocturnal Oxygen Requirement during Positive Pressure Therapy for Sleep Apnea and Medical Comorbidities

STUDY OBJECTIVES Home-based management of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) generally excludes patients with significant medical comorbidities, but such an approach lacks scientific evidence. The current study examined whether significant medical comorbidities are associated with persistent hypoxia that requires unanticipated nocturnal O2 supplementation to positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy. Conceivably, in such patients, home-based management of SDB may not detect or therefore adequately treat persistent hypoxia. METHODS In this retrospective study of 200 patients undergoing laboratory-based polysomnography, we ascertained significant medical comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, and morbid obesity) and their association with the need for unanticipated O2 supplementation to PAP therapy. Postural oxygen (SpO2) desaturations between upright and reclining positions were determined during calm wakefulness. RESULTS Postural change in SpO2 during calm wakefulness was greater in patients who eventually needed nocturnal O2 supplementation to PAP therapy than those needing PAP therapy alone (p < 0.0001). The presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (odds ratio [OR] 6.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]; 2.1, 17.5; p = 0.001), morbid obesity (OR 3.6; 95% CI 1.9, 7.0; p < 0.0001), and age older than 50 y (OR 2.8; 95% CI 1.3, 5.9; p = 0.007) but not heart failure were associated with unanticipated need for nocturnal O2 supplementation. A clinical prediction rule of less than two determinants (age older than 50 y, morbid obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and postural SpO2 desaturation greater than 5%) had excellent negative predictive value (0.92; 95% CI 0.85, 0.96) and likelihood ratio of negative test (0.08; 95% CI 0.04, 0.16). CONCLUSIONS Medical comorbidities can predict persistent hypoxia that requires unanticipated O2 supplementation to PAP therapy. Such findings justify the use of medical comorbidities to exclude home management of SDB. COMMENTARY A commentary on this article appears in this issue on page 7.

Mend the Mind and Mind the “MCC”

1001 Editorial—Parthasarathy et al. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that mental illnesses are the leading causes of disability worldwide and account for 37% of healthy years lost from non-communicable diseases.1 Non-communicable diseases—such as cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, cancer, diabetes, and mental health conditions—are estimated to result in