Snoring in Adolescence Linked to Problem Behaviors

A new study found that adolescents who frequently snore are more likely to have behavioral issues like inattention, rule-breaking, and aggression. Cognitive abilities, including memory and language skills, however, are unaffected. The corresponding study was published in JAMA Network Open. 

Habitual snoring is recognized as an essential marker of sleep-disordered breathing in children, which is linked to poor academic performance and learning problems. Snoring, in particular, has been linked to cognitive and behavioral deficiencies in children. How snoring affects adolescents, however, is less known. 

In the curent study, researchers investigated the effects of snoring on cognitive and behavoral outcomes in adolscents. To do so, they conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, which included 11, 875 children alongside their parents/ caregivers. Participants were an average of 10 years old at the start of the study and followed for five years. 

Snoring was identified from parent reports and split into three categories: none, non-habitual: less than three nights per week, and habitual: equal to or more than three times per week. Data also included cognitive assessments and caregiver-reported problem behaviors. 

Ultimately, the rate of habitual snoring decreased from 6.8% of participants in year 1 to 3.2% in year 5. While snoring was linked to problem behaviors, it was not linked to cognitive deficits. 

The researchers noted that most of the children in the sample had an average BMI percentile, meaning they may not represent those with the highest risk for obstructive sleep apnea.

“Adolescence is a period when the brain’s resilience withstands adverse inputs, which could explain why we are seeing the preservation of cognition in light of habitual snoring,” said co-author of the study, Amal Isaiah, MD, Chief of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology at University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, in a press release. 

“If a child is experiencing behavioral issues, it may be time to consult a pediatrician about a sleep study perhaps even before an evaluation for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We hope that these findings will further distinguish the behavioral versus cognitive effects of snoring to improve our approaches to treatment,” he added.

Sources: Neuroscience News, JAMA Network Open