Kanokporn UdomittipongNitipatana ChierakulPimon RuttanaumpawanWattanachai ChotinaiwattarakulChakraphan SusivaKhunphon MahoranSuwat TangchityongsivaMahidol University2018-05-032018-05-032011-11-01Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand. Vol.94, No.11 (2011), 1346-1351012522082-s2.0-84857029028https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/12239Objective: To determine the association between degree of obesity and severity of OSA in Thai children Material and Method: The present retrospective study recruited obese children aged 3 to 15 years who had habitual snoring and underwent polysomnography (PSG) between January 2009 and June 2010. Obesity was defined as percentage of ideal weight for height (%W/H) ≥ 120 and was classified as mild (%W/H of 120-139), moderate (140-159), severe (160-199) and morbid (≥ 200). OSA was classified as severe (AHI ≥ 10) and non-severe (AHI < 10). Results: Of 73 obese children, the mean age was 9.92 ± 3.42 years of which 60.3% were boys. The mean ± SD of BMI was 28.38 ± 5.99 kg/m 2 and %W/H ± SD was 162.63 ± 26.26. Gender, age, height, weight and BMI were not significantly different between severe and non-severe OSA groups. However, the %W/H of the severe OSA group (171.38% ± 29.54%) was significantly greater than the non-severe group (157.19% ± 22.68%) (p = 0.02). Severe to morbid obesity (OR 2.80, 95% CI 1.06-7.42; p = 0.038) and enlarged tonsils at least 3+ (OR 3.28, 95% CI 1.22-8.81; p = 0.018) were the risk factors for severe OSA. Conclusion: Severe to morbid obesity was a predicting factor for severe OSA. These results suggested that severely obese children with snoring should have early recognition for severe OSA, which is highly contributing to multiple sequalae.Mahidol UniversityMedicineSevere obesity is a risk factor for severe obstructive sleep apnea in obese childrenArticleSCOPUS