Snoring in Infancy Leads to Learning and Behavioral Problems

Snoring at an early age is a sign of impending problems in behavior and learning, researchers reveal.

According to health experts from American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), between three percent and 12 percent of children in the country snore and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects one to 10 percent of American children.

Dr. Sarah Biggs and colleagues from Monash Institute of Medical Research, Australia initiated to examine the hidden risks associated with moderate to severe snoring, as a result of enlarged tonsils or adenoids. Even though after improving the condition through treatment and surgery, learning problems were solved, but behavioral problems showed long-term effects.

Biggs and her team included 160 children aged between seven and 12 to analyze their habit of snoring and found most of them experiencing learning, memory and behavior problems.

Even though, treatment for four years and surgery to remove tonsils solved and improved these children's learning problems and IQ, behavioral problems continued.

"They still had behavioral problems when compared with our healthy children," Biggs told The Australian.

In another study, researchers from the University of South Australia's Centre for Sleep Research looked at the motor and cognitive skills of 450 infants. They found babies with persistent and frequent snoring experiencing learning problems by six months and one year, Herald Sun reported.

"The results are worrying because infancy is such a critical period of brain development," Dr. Mark Kohler, who was involved in the study, told Herald Sun. "It's frequent snoring that can cause problems, and this is usually classed as three or more nights a week."

Both the studies were presented at the Australian Sleep Conference in Darwin, recently.