The risk for paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea in rural Queensland

Background: The importance of assessing patients for paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) cannot be more highly stressed and orthodontists may play an essential role in risk screening. The Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) is a validated tool to identify whether a child is at risk for paediatric OSA. Objectives: The likelihood of paediatric OSA in school-aged children residing in Far North Queensland (FNQ) will be assessed using the PSQ. Methods: Parents of children aged between 4 and 18 years were invited to participate through schools and social media messaging to complete an online PSQ questionnaire to assess their OSA risk and demographics. Results: The final sample consisted of 404 school-aged children of whom 62.5% were found to be at a high-risk for paediatric OSA. The high risk was significantly associated with males and those of overweight/obese BMI status (p < 0.001). Race and age were not significant associations (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Within the contributing sample of school-aged children in FNQ, a significant number were found to be at high-risk of paediatric OSA. Males and overweight/obese children were measured risk factors.