ADHD is a relatively common neurodevelopmental disorder which affects approximately 5% of people, both children and adults. Those who are affected by ADHD tend to experience inattention, hyperactivity, forgetfulness, poor impulse control and are distracted easily. Each of these criteria may manifest differently and in some cases it’s believed that there’s a positive relationship between those who suffer from ADHD and sleep disorders.

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“Children with OSA are frequently misdiagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”

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Sleep-Disordered Breathing and School Performance in Children OSA is 6-9 folds increased in poorly performing first-graders

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• 297 first grade students whose school performance was in the lowest 10th

• Parental questionnaire + one night home recording

• Results: 54/297 (18%) had Obstructive Sleep Apnea

• 24 children had tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy. 30 parents preferred no further treatment.

• Second grade school grades were collected.

• Overall mean grades during the second grade increased from 2.43 +/- 0.17 to 2.87 +/- 0.19 in the treated ground, although no significant changes occurred in untreated group  (2.44 +/- 0.13 to 2.46 +/- 0.15)

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Conclusions: sleep-associated gas exchange abnormalities (SAGEA) is frequently present in poorly performing first-grade students in whom it adversely affects learning performance. The data suggests that a subset of children with behavioural and learning disabilities could have SAGEA and may benefit from prospective medical evaluation and treatment.