Association Between Severe Obesity and Pediatric Obstructive Apnea—A Retrospective Case Series

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the impact of severe obesity on the severity of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Study Design: Retrospective case series. Setting: Tertiary stand-alone pediatric hospital. Methods: Consecutive children with obesity (≥95th percentile body mass index [BMI]) who underwent full-night polysomnography between January 2021 and December 2021 were analyzed. Patients were categorized into obesity (≥95th percentile BMI and <120% of the 95th percentile) and severe obesity (≥120% of the 95th percentile BMI). The association between severe obesity and severe OSA was assessed using multiple logistic regression. Results: The study included 282 patients with a median age of 9.2 years (interquartile range 5.9-12.3), 63% male, and 65% Hispanic. In total, 53% were severely obese. Severely obese children had a higher prevalence of severe OSA (53% vs 33%, P