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American Morning

Does Child's Snoring Signal Bigger Problems?

Aired April 01, 2002 - 08:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The Big Question this hour: Does your child's snoring signal bigger problems? They may look adorable in their sleep. But that cute little sound some them make could require a doctor's closer attention. A new study from the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that some types of snoring can cause a sleeping disorder that's linked to learning problems, bed-wetting and even high blood pressure.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now from Atlanta with more on the news study.

Good morning -- Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Anderson.

Anderson, the American Academy of Pediatrics today is issuing a recommendation that pediatricians and parents need to pay more attention to the sound that their children make while they sleep.

Now, most of the time that children snore, it's no big deal. It's just snoring. But sometimes, it can be a sign of a disease called obstructive apnea syndrome. And that's something that needs to be looked into further because as you've mentioned, it can cause all sorts of problems. But it can also cause some more serious problems in the heart and in the lungs.

So how does a parent tell the difference? They notice that their child is snoring. How do they know if it's benign snoring or if it's snoring that could cause a problem?

Let's take a list of questions that parents can ask themselves. They should ask themselves does it happen every night? If it's every night, then it's not just because of a cold, for example, the child has. It's a sign of a more serious problem. Is it loud? The volume of the snoring can tell a lot about whether or not it's problematic. The louder, the more potentially dangerous it is. Is the child gasping for breath? Is he or she snoring and then, all of a sudden, sort of goes, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and seems to be gasping for breath.

And is the child restless? Does your child seem to be tossing and turning and trying to put -- kind of, put themselves to sleep basically? Also, some of these children have problems in school just for the simple reason that they're gasping for breath and trying to snore because their airway has become obstructive. So they're sleepy during the day. And that's another sign the parents can look for -- Anderson.

COOPER: Elizabeth, if your child is snoring, what can a pediatrician do?

COHEN: Well, the pediatrician will evaluate the situation, see if it's just, sort of, run-of-the-mill snoring or snoring that could be from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. They can then do what's called a sleep study, which is during a nap or during the night, monitors will be hooked up to the child to see what's going on. And then, if indeed, they do have this syndrome, a tonsillectomy or the adenoids can be taken out. The tonsils and/or the adenoids can be taken out. And that often solves the problem.

COOPER: Is this a growing problem? I mean, do we have any figures on how widespread this is?

COHEN: There are no really, really good numbers. But the pediatricians that I've spoken to said that it has, indeed, gotten worse and for an interesting reason. It's because obesity in the United States has gotten so much worse, obesity among children. An obese child has a much, much higher chance of having this syndrome. And, in fact, some people say up to 40 percent of obese children have this syndrome, just because the fat further constricts their airways. So it has gotten worse.

COOPER: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN medical correspondent, thanks very much.

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