Abstract
Background
Autonomic dysfunction is a key trait in the development of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in adults. However, few similar studies focused on children and adolescents. We investigated if there was any association between heart rate recovery (HRR) and the severity of OSAS in children and adolescents.
Methods
A total of 161 subjects were included: 87 healthy controls, 35 mild OSAS patients (M-OSAS) and 39 moderate-severe OSAS (M-S-OSAS) patients. Clinical parameters, cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) indexes including HRR and polysomnographic records including apnea−hypopnea index (AHI) were compared among the three groups. Pearson correlation analysis and multivariable linear regression analysis were used to detect the relationship between HRR and polysomnographic parameters.
Results
HRR values in either the OSAS group were lower than those of the control group, and the values in the M-S OSAS group were even lower than those of the M-OSAS group (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that HRR was inversely correlated with AHI (r = −0.190, P < 0.01). Moreover, multivariable linear regression analyses showed the association between HRR and AHI was significant (β = 0.174, P < 0.01).
Conclusions
HRR was closely associated with OSAS severity, which suggested that HRR might be a promising index for risk stratification and clinical management in children and adolescents with OSAS.
Impact
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Heart rate recovery (HRR), a noninvasive and reliable index of automatic nervous system, is closely associated with the severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children and adolescents.
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To our knowledge, our study was the first study in China focusing on evaluating the role of HRR in children with OSAS.
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We found HRR was closely associated with OSAS severity in children and adolescents, and it suggested that HRR might be a promising index for risk stratification and clinical management in children and adolescents with OSAS.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Natural Science Research Program in Minhang District of Shanghai (2019MHZ129).
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H.W. and L.F. were responsible for data collection, analysis and interpretation; H.Z. was responsible for article revising; Y.Z. was responsible for data collection; B.L. was responsible for study design and article revising.
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Wang, H., Feng, L., Zheng, H. et al. Attenuated heart rate recovery in children and adolescents with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Pediatr Res 89, 900–904 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-020-0953-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-020-0953-z
