Its pediatric prevalence emerges between 2 and 5% in most studies, sometimes more, underlines the pneumo-allergist Madiha Ellaffi during a webinar. According to Inserm data, the percentage rises to 8% for 20-44 year olds and more for the oldest. But for this doctor from Albi, co-founder of the association Ideaswhich promotes the care of young patients, sleep apnea “concerns at least one child in twenty“, a proportion 100 times greater than that of so-called rare diseases.
Le nocturnal snoringclinical sign of a possible obstructive sleep syndromeis insufficiently taken into account according to specialists, while a recent survey by the OpinionWay institute carried out among a thousand parents revealed a population of 6% of snoring children.
“Often I hear people say: ‘Hey, he snores like his grandfather’… Non, a child who snores is not normal !“, assures Patricia Franco, head of the pediatric sleep unit at the Woman Mother Child Hospital (HFME) in Bron, near Lyon. There may be occasional discomfort, a stuffy nose for example. “But if the child snores every night prolonged and intenseyou have to think regarding sleep apnea“insists the doctor, for whom “this message does not pass enough in the families”.
