Insights into the risk factors and mechanisms for the adverse sequelae of sleep disordered breathing in children

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is common in children and leads to cognitive, behavioural and cardiovascular deficits. The aim of this PhD was to assess which demographic and clinical risk factors predispose an Australian clinical population to SDB and to assess cerebral oxygenation to better understand the underlying mechanisms involved in the differences in cardiovascular, cognitive and behavioural parameters between different SDB severities and ages. We showed that children with SDB are generally able to maintain their cerebral oxygenation, however the exposure to repetitive falls in cerebral oxygenation with individual respiratory events may explain the differences in deficits between age groups.