Citation

Jain P, Hadique S, Devabhaktuni P, Parker J. Chest 2012; 142(4): 1074A.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American College of Chest Physicians)

DOI

10.1378/chest.1386036

PMID

23699012

Abstract

PURPOSE: Sleep disorders and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in high school students may be associated with poor academic performance and higher risk of motor vehicle accidents. Primary goal was to determine the incidence of EDS among high school students. Also to identify the factors associated with EDS among these students.METHODS: High-school students were invited to fill out an anonymous survey, which included demographic information, the average number of hours slept every night, snoring, and perception of inadequate or non refreshing sleep. Information on number of hours participants spent performing physical activity e.g. school sports, watching television, and playing videogames per week was collected. Excessive daytime sleepiness was defined by an Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) > 10. Age-and gender specific BMI between 85th to 95th percentile defined overweight and > 95th percentile defined obesity. Standard statistical tests were applied.RESULTS: Of 234 surveys distributed, 196 (84%) were returned, out of which, 141 (72%) were included in the study and 55 (28%) were rejected due to incomplete data. The average age was 16 ±1.18 years. The average BMI was 23.5±5.7 kg/m2. Forty of 141 (28.4%) of study subject were either obese or overweight. Overall, 55 of 141 (39%) of subjects had EDS with an ESS of > 10. Subjects with ESS of > 10 were more likely to report perception of inadequate or non refreshing sleep than those with ESS < 10 (80% vs. 61.7%, p=0.025). However, the duration of sleep was similar in both groups (6.84±1.32 hours vs. 7.01±1.04 hours, P=0.39). Thirty-three percent of participants reported snoring during sleep. There was no difference in the incidence of obesity or overweight, snoring or number of hours per week spent performing physical activity, videogames, or watching television in students with ESS of < 10 or >10.CONCLUSIONS: In our study we found excessive daytime sleepiness was common among high-school students. We also found that duration of sleep was restricted in both groups below the 7 hours per night. Lack of association of EDS with the duration of sleep suggests a sleep disorder may be present in high school students.CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Further studies are warranted to identify underlying causes of EDS in high school students as there are important public health implications related to EDS.DISCLOSURE: The following authors have nothing to disclose: Pranav Jain, Sarah Hadique, Prasad Devabhaktuni, John ParkerNo Product/Research Disclosure InformationWest Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.

Language: en