PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Ewan McConnell AU - Elizabeth Hill AU - Athanasia Pataka AU - Renata Riha TI - Behavioural and emotional disturbances associated with sleep disturbances in children with Down's syndrome DP - 2013 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - 3307 VI - 42 IP - Suppl 57 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/3307.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/3307.full SO - Eur Respir J2013 Sep 01; 42 AB - Background: Children with Down’s syndrome (DS) are predisposed to obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). In children with DS, behavioural and emotional disturbances secondary to OSAS may be overlooked and assumed to be the result of DS-related intellectual impairment.Aims: 1) To determine the prevalence of behavioural and emotional disturbances associated with sleep disturbances in a population of children with Down’s Syndrome in Scotland in 2012. 2) To assess changes in sleep disturbance prevalence over a 7 year period (2005 – 2012).Method: A questionnaire based on the pilot study completed in 2005, consisting of a modified sleep questionnaire, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) with additional paediatric question and the Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC-P24), was sent to the carers of 261 children aged 4 - 15 years with DS.Results: Presence of choking attacks (p = 0.001,) the paediatric ESS (p = 0.001) and the standard ESS (p = <0.0001) were independently associated with a higher total behaviour problem score in children with DS. A significant difference was found between using the ESS and a version modified for paediatric use (p < 0.0001.) The prevalence of sleep disorders in this population has remained stable over the past seven years.Conclusion: This is the first study to document a high prevalence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) (>50%) in the Scottish DS population. Sleepiness and SDB were independently associated with worse behaviour scores.