Exploring comorbid insomnia in children with obstructive sleep apnea (COMISA)
Year: 2025
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Background: In adults, Comorbid Insomnia and Sleep Apnea (COMISA) is associated with greater complaints than isolated Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) or insomnia, and decreased success of treatment. In children, COMISA is poorly documented. Objectives: to evaluate 1) the frequency of COMISA, 2) the links between OSA and insomnia 3) the PSG and clinical characteristics of COMISA in children. Material and methods: All children between 6 months and 16 years old who underwent a PSG in the sleep unit of our tertiary hospital in 2018-2024, and who completed Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC), were included. Insomnia was defined as pathological SDSC-insomnia score and OSA as Obstructive Apnea-Hypopnea Index ≥2/h. Patients were either “no-OSA no-insomnia”, “insomnia-only”, “OSA-only” or “COMISA”. Other questionnaires were collected (daytime sleepiness, depression, anxiety and hyperactivity). Results: Two hundred children were included with a median age of 9 years. Patients were mainly addressed for sleep disordered breathing (67%), among whom 46% had syndromic or neuromuscular comorbidities. In the sample, 37% were “no-OSA/insomnia", 12% “insomnia-only”, 37% “OSA-only” and 14% “COMISA”. OSA, insomnia and COMISA were more frequent in patients <4 years old. Insomnia and OSA severity were not correlated. Insomnia frequency was similar in patients with or without OSA. Patients with insomnia had more anxiety, regardless of OSA. No specific characteristic to COMISA were identified. Conclusion: These results did not suggest an association between OSA and insomnia in children in contrast with adults, likely due to pathophysiological mechanisms evolving with age.
Source: European Respiratory Journal
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4416635038