Medical comorbidity of sleep disorders in children and adolescents.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Sleep disorders in children and adolescents often present with various medical comorbidities. The aim of this review is to present the recent literature findings on this issue.

RECENT FINDINGS: The major medical comorbid conditions that accompany insomnia or short sleep duration in children and adolescents are obesity and metabolic syndrome, growth hormone deficiency, allergic conditions, various disorders accompanied by chronic pain, neoplasms and blood malignancies, and genetic and congenital disorders. Hypersomnia is mainly related to malignancies. Children and adolescents with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome or sleep-disordered breathing may suffer from obesity and metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovaries, hypothyroidism, asthma, epilepsy, various ear nose throat disorders, congenital malformations or genetic conditions. Parasomnias may be comorbid with some medical conditions, but the main challenge in their evaluation is the differential diagnosis from nocturnal epileptic seizures.

SUMMARY: The co-occurrence of sleep disorders and medical conditions in childhood and adolescence is quite frequent and has an impact on general health and quality of life.