No relationship between neurocognitive functioning and mild sleep disordered breathing in a community sample of children

Study Objectives: Our objective was to examine the relationship between sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and neurocognitive functioning in a large general-population sample of children who underwent a full-night polysomnogram and comprehensive neuropsychological testing. Methods: A population-based study of 571 school-aged children (6-12 years) underwent a 9-hour polysomnogram and a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Results: No significant relationship was found between children with a mild apnea-hypopnea index (1 ≤ apnea-hypopnea index < 5) and any measure of neuropsychological functioning (intelligence, verbal and nonverbal reasoning ability, attention, executive functioning, memory, processing speed, and visual-motor skill). Partial correlations between apnea-hypopnea index and neuropsychological test scores and polynominal trend analysis were all nonsignificant. Conclusions: Children with mild SDB showed no significant neuropsychological impairment compared to children without SDB. This study suggests that children with mild SDB are not at risk for neuropsychological impairment and that the coexistence of mild SDB with any neuropsychological impairment should be considered comorbid and not causal. However, the association between neurobehavioral issues and children with mild SDB remains uncertain.