Sunday, January 8, 2012

Sleep apnea in children may lead to diabetes

While you hear a lot about sleep apnea today most of it involves how adults are handling or not handling this sleep disorder. But children of all ages can also have sleep apnea and like adults they can suffer from the same problems that are brought about by this disorder. There are 2 very dangerous problems that can occur with sleep apnea, one is heart disease and the other is diabetes which can also affect children.
A study had taken place at the University of Arizona where 50 children between the ages of 10 and 16 all having diabetes but only one third having sleep apnea. Their health was monitored.
According to Medpagetoday.comDiabetic children with more nightly apnea events had significantly higher glucose levels and spent more time in hyperglycemia than young type 1 diabetics without sleep disturbances”
The study concludes that diabetic children with apnea not only have a worse condition of diabetes their day to day life including school is also made worse, even if they are following a strict lifestyle for diabetic patients.
Children have sleep apnea for much of the same reasons that adults do: being overweight, enlarged tongue and the shape of their faces.  And like adults their options for correcting sleep apnea are the CPAP mask and surgery, such are removing tonsils and adenoids.
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