Sleep-disordered breathing may spur behavioral, learning problems in children.

摘要

TEN YEARS AGO, MANY OF THE PRE-school and elementary school-aged children referred to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's pediatric sleep and breathing disorders center, in Baltimore, already had pulmonary hypertension and cardiac problems when they arrived.Today, however, thanks in part to efforts by the National Institutes of Health, sleep specialists, and others to boost recognition of sleep disorders in individuals of all ages, the center now generally sees children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) before such severe problems arise, said Ann Hal-bower, MD, medical director of the school's pediatric sleep disorders program.