Öz

Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children with morbid obesity is an important health problem requiring early diagnosis and intervention due to its high prevalence and multidimensional clinical effects. This study aimed to assess the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ)-based OSA risk in children with morbid obesity and to evaluate associated clinical and laboratory findings.

Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included children with morbid obesity who were admitted to a tertiary pediatric pulmonology outpatient clinic between 2021 and 2023 and followed up for at least one year. Morbid obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) ≥99th percentile. Patient clinical characteristics were obtained from the electronic medical record system. OSA was evaluated using the PSQ. Patients were divided into two groups according to the PSQ cut-off value: Group 1 included children with PSQ scores <0.33, and Group 2 included children with PSQ scores ≥0.33.

Results: This study included 47 children with morbid obesity, with a median age of 15.0 years (Q1–Q3: 12.5–16.5); 21 patients (44.7%) were male. The most common complaint was fatigue with exertion (n=41, 87.0%). The median PSQ score was 0.42 (Q1–Q3: 0.25–0.59). A negative correlation was found between PSQ score and oxygen saturation (r=−0.289, p=0.049) and FEF25–75 (L) (r=−0.490, p=0.011). According to the evaluation of PSQ cut-off values, hypercarbia was more frequently detected in Group 2 than in Group 1 (p=0.047). Only four of the 47 patients underwent PSG; three of these patients had an apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) >5, and a these three patients were in Group 2 based on their PSQ scores.

Conclusion: In this study, the risk of OSA in children with morbid obesity, as assessed by the PSQ, was found to be high. Our findings highlight the importance of clinical awareness of OSA in children with morbid obesity. Further PSG-based studies with larger sample sizes are needed to better establish the potential role of the PSQ as a feasible alternative screening tool for early diagnosis.

 

Kaynakça

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Nasıl atıf yapılır

1.
Kürtül Çakar M, Eryılmaz Polat S, Ademhan Tural D, Tuğcu GD, Yıldırım Ç, Yetişgin H, et al. Pediatric sleep questionnaire-based risk of obstructive sleep apnea in children with morbid obesity. Turk J Pediatr Dis. 2026;Early View:1-5. https://doi.org/10.12956/TJPD.2026.1385