Lin Mei1, Xiaodan Li1, Guifei Zhou2, Tingting Ji1, Jun Chen3, Zhifei Xu4, Yun Peng5, Yue Liu5, Hongbin Li1, Jie Zhang1, Shengcai Wang1, Yamei Zhang1, Wentong Ge1, Yongli Guo6, Yue Qiu1, Xinbei Jia1, Jinghong Tian7, Li Zheng4, Jiangang Liu8, Jun Tai9, Xin Ni10. 1. Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Surgery, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, 100045, China. 2. School of Computer and Information Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China. 3. Big Data and Engineering Research Center, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, 100045, China. 4. Department of Respiration, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University,National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, 100045, China. 5. Department of Radiology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, 100045, China. 6. Beijing Key Laboratory for Pediatric Diseases of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Paediatric Research Institute, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health (NCCH), Beijing, 100045, China. 7. Department of Neurorehabilitation, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, 100045, China. 8. School of Computer and Information Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China; Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big Data-Based Precision Medicine, School of Medicine and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China. 9. Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Surgery, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, 100045, China; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Children's Hospital, Capital Institute of Paediatrics, Beijing, 100020, China. Electronic address: trenttj@163.com. 10. Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Surgery, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, 100045, China. Electronic address: nixin@bch.com.cn.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To investigate alterations in neurocognitive, attention, paediatric sleep questionnaire (PSQ) scores and whole brain white matter (WM) integrity between children with mild and severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) according to sex and whether these changes are associated with OSA severity. METHODS: Fifty-seven children (36 males and 21 females) diagnosed with OSA were recruited for this study. Children of both sexes were divided into mild (male-MG, female-MG) and severe (male-SG, female-SG) groups according to OSA severity. Polysomnography (PSG), neurocognitive, attention and PSQ tests were compared between groups by one-way samples analysis of variance (ANOVA) F test. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was scanned using a 3T GE MRI scanner and analysed by Tract-based Spatial Statistics (TBSS). Spearman correlation was calculated between DTI Eigenvalues and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Compared to mild OSA patients, severe OSA patients presented greater severity of obstructive apnoea hypopnea index (OAHI), neurocognition, PSQ and attention tests in both male and female patients. Brain WM integrity in the male-SG, compared to the male-MG, demonstrated significantly reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the right middle frontal gyrus and the right frontal sub-gyral regions and increased axial diffusivity (AD) values in the right inferior frontal gyrus, left parietal angular gyrus and sub-gyral regions, while no differences were found between the female-MG and female-SG. Alterations in male-SG brain regions were observably correlated with severity in male OSA patients. CONCLUSIONS: The integrity of WM, which regulates autonomic, cognitive, and attention functions, is impaired in male, but not female, children with severe OSA.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate alterations in neurocognitive, attention, paediatric sleep questionnaire (PSQ) scores and whole brain white matter (WM) integrity between children with mild and severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) according to sex and whether these changes are associated with OSA severity. METHODS: Fifty-seven children (36 males and 21 females) diagnosed with OSA were recruited for this study. Children of both sexes were divided into mild (male-MG, female-MG) and severe (male-SG, female-SG) groups according to OSA severity. Polysomnography (PSG), neurocognitive, attention and PSQ tests were compared between groups by one-way samples analysis of variance (ANOVA) F test. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was scanned using a 3T GE MRI scanner and analysed by Tract-based Spatial Statistics (TBSS). Spearman correlation was calculated between DTI Eigenvalues and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Compared to mild OSA patients, severe OSA patients presented greater severity of obstructive apnoea hypopnea index (OAHI), neurocognition, PSQ and attention tests in both male and female patients. Brain WM integrity in the male-SG, compared to the male-MG, demonstrated significantly reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the right middle frontal gyrus and the right frontal sub-gyral regions and increased axial diffusivity (AD) values in the right inferior frontal gyrus, left parietal angular gyrus and sub-gyral regions, while no differences were found between the female-MG and female-SG. Alterations in male-SG brain regions were observably correlated with severity in male OSA patients. CONCLUSIONS: The integrity of WM, which regulates autonomic, cognitive, and attention functions, is impaired in male, but not female, children with severe OSA.