Journal of Infectious Diseases & Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

As every living creature feels, sleep is essencial for the body to renew itself, and gather energy. Physical growth and mental development can be possible with adequate sleep in children and adolescents. Sleep directly effects growth, especially in early infancy. Children with adequate sleep patterns develop better mental and physical health. Recognizing sleep problems in the early period and establishing good sleep practices in childhood will enable them to live healthy for many years. Sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs) are highly prevalent and gradually increasing in school-aged children due to technological and social â�?�?jetlagâ�? worldwide. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of SRBDs among school children in Kars, Turkey. A total of 1,421 school-aged children (6-13 years old) were included. SRBDs were evaluated with the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ). This study also examined the childrenâ�?�?s socio-demographic characteristics and their relationships with SRBDs. The prevalence of SRBDs was 17.2%. The study groupâ�?�?s mean age was 9.37 �?± 1.91 years, and 54.2% were girls. There was a significant relationship between â�?�?positiveâ�? (â�?¥0.33) PSQ results and low educational levels of the parents, household smoking, frequent infections, chronic diseases, poor relationships with friends and teachers, and academic success. A strong relationship was found between academic success and snoring, breathing problems, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, nocturnal enuresis, morning headaches, delayed growth, and parental obesity. The SRBDs risk was 1.504-fold higher in boys than in girls. The risk of SRBDs with frequent infections was 1.921-fold higher than without frequent infections. Chronic diseases were associated with a 2.212-fold increase in the risk of SRBDs. SRBDs increased the risk of poor academic success by 4.673 fold (1/0.214). This was the first study conducted with school children in this region. We believe it is important to evaluate the prevalence and associated factors of SRBDs in school-aged children because of their effects on academic success, especially in developing parts of Turkey that require well-educated human resources more than the developed areas.

Biography

Hulya Cakmur has graduated medical school at the Atatürk University in Turkey. She has completed her residency training in Family Medicine at the Trakya University. She has PhD degree in Public Health at the Dokuz Eylül University. She has twenty five years of practice experience as a specialist in Family Medicine including ten years of experience in public health as a PhD prepared professional.