Prevalence of OSA in chilean children and adolescents based on subscale of pediatric sleep questionnaire.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in children and adolescents from four districts of Santiago, Chile by using a six-question subscale from the Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders (SRBD) scale, which measures respiratory symptoms while sleeping. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional observational study. The six-question subscale of the SRBD scale was applied to the parents or guardians of the children and adolescents from four educational establishments in different districts of Santiago. Convenience sampling was used. This subscale allowed to divide the sample into two groups: one group with OSA and one at low risk of OSA. In addition, statistical tests were applied to evaluate the variation between gender and age range. Results: Of the total number of subjects (n=838, 4-18 years, mean: 11.3±4.2), 681 were included. According to the six-question subscale, 2.2% (CI 95% 1.64-2.76%) of the sample had OSA. There is a slight predominance in males, without statistically significant difference (p=0.083). In relation to the age of the participants, there was no statistically significant difference (p=0.512).Conclusion: The prevalence of OSA in Chilean children and adolescents was similar to previous reports. The results obtained by the analysis of the six-question subscale of the SRBD scale allow a more accurate detection of OSA. Future research should promote the translation of this questionnaire into the Chilean context and its use throughout the country.