Total Sleep Time and BMI z-score Are Associated with Physical Function Mobility, Peer Relationship, and Pain Interference in Children Undergoing Routine Polysomnography: A PROMIS approach

Introduction: Sleep disturbance, especially obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and inadequate sleep, adversely affect various health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) domains in adults. Few studies have addressed problems with HR-QoL in children with OSA or sleep-related symptoms. Methods: Patients between ages 5 to 17 years who were referred to the sleep laboratory from June 2017 to August 2017 for overnight polysomnography were approached to participate in the study. Results: A total of 86 patients were included in the final analysis; 45 patients (52.3%) were male; and the median (interquartile range) of their mean BMI z-scores was 1.7 (0.5, 2.4). The patients were categorized by OSA severity as follows: 27 (31.4%) mild OSA, 11 (12.8%) moderate OSA, 24 (27.9%) severe OSA, and 24 (27.9%) without OSA. Severity of OSA was not correlated with any PROMIS domain. In univariable analyses, BMI z-score was negatively correlated with physical function mobility score (P = .002) and positively correlated with pain interference (P = .02) and pain intensity (P = .02). Total sleep time was positively correlated with physical function mobility (P = .03) and peer relationship (P = .002). Significant correlations between several PROMIS domains were also observed. Conclusions: Total sleep time was associated with physical function mobility and peer relationship. Regression analysis demonstrated a relationship between BMI z-score, physical function mobility, and pain intensity in our study population. Commentary: A commentary on this article appears in this issue on page 541.