TY - JOUR
T1 - Working memory in children with sleep-disordered breathing: objective versus subjective measures
AU - Biggs, Sarah
AU - Bourke, Robert
AU - Anderson, Vicki
AU - Jackman, Angela
AU - Killedar, Asawari
AU - Nixon, Gillian
AU - Davey, Margot
AU - Walker, Adrian
AU - Trinder, John
AU - Horne, Rosemary Sylvia Claire
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Parents consistently report working memory deficits in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB); however, results from objective testing measures are inconsistent. This study aims to examine and compare working memory performance in children with various degrees of severity of SDB using both parent report and objective testing. METHODS: Subjects included 127 children aged 7-12years (mean age 9.6+/-1.6y: 71M/56F). Overnight polysomnography classified subjects into four groups: control (N=34); primary snoring (PS: N=55), mild obstructive sleep apnoea (mild OSA: N=22) and moderate to severe OSA (MS OSA: N=16). The Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) was used as the parent reported measure of working memory. A computerised task involving immediate recognition of playing cards (CogHealth) was used as the objective measure. RESULTS: Results of the BRIEF revealed working memory deficits at all severities of SDB compared to controls. Results of CogHealth revealed no difference between SDB groups and controls; however, mild OSA performed significantly worse than PS. Comparison of the two measures revealed that parents of controls reported less deficits, and parents of PS reported more deficits, than were found on the objective measure of working memory. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that parents of children with less severe SDB have a tendency to overestimate the level of working memory deficit in their children, possibly as a reflection of behaviour. This suggests that observation of deficits in working memory may be largely dependent on the assessment method and children with SDB may not be as impaired as previously thought.
AB - Parents consistently report working memory deficits in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB); however, results from objective testing measures are inconsistent. This study aims to examine and compare working memory performance in children with various degrees of severity of SDB using both parent report and objective testing. METHODS: Subjects included 127 children aged 7-12years (mean age 9.6+/-1.6y: 71M/56F). Overnight polysomnography classified subjects into four groups: control (N=34); primary snoring (PS: N=55), mild obstructive sleep apnoea (mild OSA: N=22) and moderate to severe OSA (MS OSA: N=16). The Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) was used as the parent reported measure of working memory. A computerised task involving immediate recognition of playing cards (CogHealth) was used as the objective measure. RESULTS: Results of the BRIEF revealed working memory deficits at all severities of SDB compared to controls. Results of CogHealth revealed no difference between SDB groups and controls; however, mild OSA performed significantly worse than PS. Comparison of the two measures revealed that parents of controls reported less deficits, and parents of PS reported more deficits, than were found on the objective measure of working memory. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that parents of children with less severe SDB have a tendency to overestimate the level of working memory deficit in their children, possibly as a reflection of behaviour. This suggests that observation of deficits in working memory may be largely dependent on the assessment method and children with SDB may not be as impaired as previously thought.
UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21924953
U2 - 10.1016/j.sleep.2011.07.003
DO - 10.1016/j.sleep.2011.07.003
M3 - Article
VL - 12
SP - 887
EP - 891
JO - Sleep Medicine
JF - Sleep Medicine
SN - 1389-9457
IS - 9
ER -