Impact of sleep respiratory disorders on endothelial function in children

ScientificWorldJournal. 2013 Dec 26:2013:719456. doi: 10.1155/2013/719456. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children can induce endothelial dysfunction, a well-known early marker of atherosclerosis. The study aimed to evaluate a link among endothelial function (measured by flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD)), obesity (evaluated by body mass index (BMI)), and sleep disordered breathing (SDB), assessed with apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI), in a paediatric population. We demonstrated that our little OSAS patients showed an impaired endothelial function as compared to controls. In particular, the higher the AHI, the worst the FMD values and thus the endothelial function. Although the population sample is small, this study demonstrated that OSAS could impair endothelial function and worsen cardiovascular risk profile since childhood.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Blood Flow Velocity
  • Brachial Artery / physiopathology*
  • Child
  • Endothelium, Vascular / physiopathology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Sleep Apnea Syndromes / physiopathology*
  • Vasodilation*