Child Sleep Apnea Can Produce Significantly Lower IQ Scores
Despite the fact that we have known for some time now that children who suffer from sleep apnea generally display poor scores on IQ tests (usually getting 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 very recently is that this is produced by chemical changes within the brain. This means that an otherwise bright kid may well produce a run of the mill performance as a result of nothing more than a sleep disorder that, in almost all cases, can be quite easily treated.
In a study carried out at the Hopkin’s Children’s Centre in Baltimore, 31 children between the ages of 6 and 16 (19 of whom were suffering from severe sleep apnea) were examined with a special form or magnetic resonance imager (MRI) and it was noted that those children with sleep apnea showed significant changes in the right frontal cortex and hippocampus which are parts of the brain that are connected with higher mental function and learning.
The study also discovered that these children were suffering from levels of three chemicals within the brain which were indicative of brain damage. This alteration of the chemistry of the brain resulting from sleep apnea might or might not be lasting and, at this stage, additional studies will be necessary to see whether this effect is reversible.
But, even if reversal is possible and the brain chemistry and cognitive function can be returned to normal, children who have sleep apnea are going to suffer a loss in learning as long as they have untreated sleep apnea and will certainly not be able to wind back time and regain this learning period.
Naturally, parents should already be on the lookout for signs of sleep apnea in their children and this study clearly shows that early diagnosis and treatment of this sleep problem could have a substantial affect on a child’s success in life.
The signs of sleep apnea include numerous pauses in breathing during sleep which frequently lead to an arousal from sleep and to tossing and turning in bed. Children may also display labored or loud breathing, snoring, coughing, gasping and, occasionally, bedwetting at an age when this phase should generally have passed.
Parents may also notice a child sleeping in an odd position, possible with their bottom sticking up in the air and with their head tilted back in an effort to keep their airway open.
In most cases child sleep apnea can be treated by taking out the tonsils and adenoids, or by removing excess tissue from the nose or the back of the throat. In addition, a continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) machine (or pediatric CPAP) can also be used to give the child an airflow delivered through 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 nights of poor quality sleep will take their toll on your child. However, when you combine this with an impairment of your child’s IQ, it becomes crucial that you act at the earliest possible opportunity to get this condition professionally diagnosed and treated.