Edition V16N03 | Year 2011 | Editorial What’s new in DInterviewistry | Pages 22 to 24
Sleep-related breathing disorders (SBD) have been studied and treated for a long time in adults, but little attention has been given to children, for whom SBD may be as serious as for adults. Parents, guardians and healthcare personnel should pay close attention to these problems, which may be treated during childhood. Their effects on everyday life, such as hyperactivity and poor school achievement, may have a severe impact on the development of an individual and may clearly affect health. The relevance of this problem has motivated authors to evaluate the cephalometric characteristics of children with SBD.1 Cephalometry is an important facial morphometry tool available practically all over the world. This study sample included 70 children (34 boys; mean age = 7.3±1.72 years) who usually snored and had symptoms of sleep-related obstructive breathing disorders for over 6 months. Nocturnal polysomnography was used to divide children into 3 groups: 26 children with a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); 17 with signs of upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS), and 27 snorers. The control group had 70 children with no breathing obstructions paired for age and sex. Lateral head radiographs were obtained, and cephalograms were traced and measured. […]