Snoring and sleep problems in children with and without allergic rhinitis: A case control study

Objective: To compare the sleep problems between children with and without allergic rhinitis (AR). Material and Method: A case-control study was conducted in 65 children aged 6-15 years with allergic rhinitis and 104 control subjects matched individually by age, height and weight. Cases were recruited from the Pediatric Allergy Clinic at Thammasat University Hospital. The selection of cases was based on clinical history, physical examination and skin prick test. Matched healthy control children were recruited from the Thammasat primary school. Children and their caregivers who usually sleep with them completed the questionnaire. Results: 86.2% of allergic rhinitis was classified as persistent rhinitis and 63.1% had moderate to severe disease. The most common presenting symptom was nasal blockage (66.2%). Allergic rhinitis patients had significant sleep problems with snoring, sleep apnea, restless, night sweating, mouth breathing, dry throat, morning headache, falling asleep in class, difficulty in waking up and not refreshed in the morning (p<0.05). Patients who categorized as blockers had significantly more restless sleep and dry mouth on waking up compared to that of non-blockers (p<0.05). Conclusion: There was a higher prevalence of sleep problems in children with AR then those without AR.