Sleep Apnea In Children Can Produce Considerably Lower IQ Scores
Despite the fact that we have known for a long time that children with sleep apnea often get poor scores on IQ tests (usually having an average of 85 against a score of 101 for children who are not suffering from sleep apnea) one thing that we have not known until quite recently is that this results from chemical changes in the brain. This means that an otherwise smart kid could well produce a run of the mill performance because of nothing more than a sleeping problem which, in the majority of cases, can be fairly easily treated.
In a recent study undertaken in Baltimore, 31 children aged between 6 and 16 (19 of whom had been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea) were examined with a special type or magnetic resonance imager and it was found that those children with sleep apnea displayed considerable changes in the right frontal cortex and hippocampus which are sections of the brain that are linked to learning and higher mental function.
The study also discovered that these kids were suffering from levels of three chemicals within the brain which indicated brain damage. This alteration of the chemistry of the brain resulting from sleep apnea might or might not be permanent and, at this stage, further studies are needed to see if this effect can be reversed.
Even if reversal is possible however and the chemistry of the brain and cognitive function can be returned to normal, kids with sleep apnea will suffer learning problems as long as they are suffering from untreated sleep apnea and will certainly not be able to rewind time and regain this learning period.
Parents should of course already be looking out for the signs of sleep apnea in their children but this study clearly shows that an early diagnosis and treatment of this sleep problem could have a significant affect on a child’s success in life.
There are many signs of sleep apnea including numerous pauses in breathing during sleep which frequently result in an arousal from sleep and tossing and turning in bed. Kids can also display labored or loud breathing, snoring, coughing, gasping and, at times, bedwetting at a time when should usually have passed.
Parents might also notice a child sleeping in an unusual position, possible with their bottom sticking up in the air and with their head tilted back in an effort to force their airway open.
In very many cases child sleep apnea can be effectively treated by removing the adenoids or tonsils, or excess tissue from the nose or the back of the throat. Additionally, a continuous positive airways pressure machine (or pediatric CPAP) can also be employed to give the child an airflow delivered using a mask which is worn during sleep to keep the airway open.
In itself sleep apnea is incapacitating for any child and the effect of night after night of poor quality sleep will take their toll on your child. However, when this is combined with an impairment of your child’s IQ, it is imperative that you act at the earliest possible opportunity to have this condition professionally diagnosed and treated.