Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) in children with psoriasis

Purpose of the study. To study the characteristics of OSA in children with psoriasis, as well as diseases that affect its etiopathogenesis (chronic pathology of ENT organs) and comorbidities (overweight and obesity).

Materials and methods. An open, prospective, observational, cohort, single-center clinical study was conducted at the Department of Dermatology and Allergology of the Research Institute of Pediatric Dermatology, the Department of Instrumental Diagnostics of the Federal State Autonomous Institution «National Medical Research Center of Children’s Health» of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation from October 2023 to March 2025. An analysis of clinical (collection of complaints, anamnesis, examination) and paraclinical indicators (pediatric sleep questionnaire (PSQ), polysomnography (PSG), standard deviations of the body mass index – standard deviation score (SDS BMI)) was performed, and a consultation of a pediatric endocrinologist and an otolaryngologist was organized for 89 children aged 3 to 17 years with moderate or severe psoriasis vulgaris.

Results. According to the children’s sleep questionnaire PSQ, OSA was diagnosed in 62.9% of children with psoriasis, and according to the PSG results, only 21% of patients had this pathology, which is significantly more common than in the general population (1–5%). In 74% of cases, OSA was mild, in 16% – moderate, and in 10% – severe. This sleep disorder was significantly associated with excess body weight (p = 0.009) and chronic ENT pathology (p = 0.008).

Conclusions. OSA is quite common in children with psoriasis and is associated with excess body weight and ENT pathology. Correction of diseases that affect the etiopathogenesis of psoriasis, as well as those that are its comorbidities and lead to OSA can contribute to increased treatment effectiveness and improved prognosis for children with this pathology.

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