Exploring risk for obstructive sleep apnea symptoms in vulnerable children: A cross-sectional analysis of clinical variables and oral health-related quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to verify the association between the presence of risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), clinical variables, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in children aged 3-10 years in a situation of social vulnerability. METHODS: This observational, cross-sectional study included 400 children aged 3-10 years of both sexes enrolled in a municipal school in Itu, São Paulo. Children were in the deciduous or mixed dentition phase. Parents/guardians answered the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) questionnaire and the Brazilian version of the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire to assess OHRQoL and the risk of OSA. Clinical examinations were conducted by a calibrated examiner under natural lighting conditions. Dental caries were recorded using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (deciduous teeth)/Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (permanent teeth) indexes, and malocclusion was recorded using the Foster and Hamilton criteria. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were performed to assess the association between the risk of OSA (dependent variable) and independent variables, including age, caries experience, malocclusion, and OHRQoL (ECOHIS), considering a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: The prevalence of risk for OSA in the sample is 59.5%. Children over 7 years of age (odds ratio [OR] 6.02; 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 3.71-9.76) and with family OHRQoL impact (OR 1.68; 95%CI 1.07-2.65) are more likely to have a childhood of risk for OSA (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Children in situations of social vulnerability over 7 years of age and with a negative impact on OHRQoL in the family domain have a greater chance of risk for OSA.