Associations among Neighborhood, Race, and Sleep Apnea Severity in Children. A Six-City Analysis - PubMed (original) (raw)

Associations among Neighborhood, Race, and Sleep Apnea Severity in Children. A Six-City Analysis

Rui Wang et al. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2017 Jan.

Abstract

Rationale: Prior researchers found that individual-level environmental and social indicators did not explain the racial disparity in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Neighborhood socioeconomic variables, as well as risk factors for a range of adverse behavioral and health outcomes, may better explain this racial disparity and help identify modifiable intervention targets.

Objectives: To evaluate the associations of neighborhood socioeconomic variables with obstructive sleep apnea severity and to assess whether the neighborhood variables explain the association between race and obstructive sleep apnea severity.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data of 774 children in six cities who participated in the Childhood Adenotonsillectomy Trial. The outcome variable was the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Neighborhood socioeconomic variables were obtained on the basis of the children's residential addresses and information in the American Community Survey. Regression models were used to assess the associations among neighborhood conditions, race, and AHI.

Measurements and main results: Higher poverty rate and percentage of single-female-headed households were associated with higher AHI (P = 0.008 and 0.002, respectively). African American race was associated with a 1.33 (1.08-1.64 95% confidence interval)-fold increase in AHI, adjusting for age and sex. After controlling for poverty rate or percentage of single-female-headed households with children, the association between race and AHI levels was no longer significant (P = 0.15 and 0.26, respectively), and the magnitude of race association decreased 34 or 55%, suggesting that the association between race and AHI levels was largely explained by poverty rate or percentage of single-female-headed households with children.

Conclusions: Neighborhood socioeconomic variables in comparison with individual-level socioeconomic indicators provides better explanations for the racial disparity in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Further research aimed at identifying factors that aggregate in disadvantaged neighborhoods and increase sleep apnea risk may suggest modifiable intervention targets. Clinical trial registered with clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00560859).

Keywords: health disparities; pediatrics; poverty; risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Rosen CL, Larkin EK, Kirchner HL, Emancipator JL, Bivins SF, Surovec SA, Martin RJ, Redline S. Prevalence and risk factors for sleep-disordered breathing in 8- to 11-year-old children: association with race and prematurity. J Pediatr. 2003;142:383–389. - PubMed
    1. Chervin RD, Dillon JE, Bassetti C, Ganoczy DA, Pituch KJ. Symptoms of sleep disorders, inattention, and hyperactivity in children. Sleep. 1997;20:1185–1192. - PubMed
    1. Owens JA. A clinical overview of sleep and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009;18:92–102. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chervin RD, Archbold KH, Dillon JE, Pituch KJ, Panahi P, Dahl RE, Guilleminault C. Associations between symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, restless legs, and periodic leg movements. Sleep. 2002;25:213–218. - PubMed
    1. Gottlieb DJ, Vezina RM, Chase C, Lesko SM, Heeren TC, Weese-Mayer DE, Auerbach SH, Corwin MJ. Symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing in 5-year-old children are associated with sleepiness and problem behaviors. Pediatrics. 2003;112:870–877. - PubMed

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources