IMPACT OF ASTHMA AND RHINITIS CONTROL ON SLEEP QUALITY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

Introduction: Studies indicate that the association between asthma and rhinitis is common and may be responsible for the presence of sleep disorders, with consequent impairment throughout the day, worsening of quality of life, decreased ability to concentrate, low school performance rates, and behavioral changes. Objective: To evaluate the impact of the level of asthma and rhinitis control on the sleep quality of children and adolescents. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, prospective, analytical, and quantitative study conducted with children and adolescents between 6 and 18 years of age diagnosed with asthma and allergic rhinitis who attended the Pediatric Pulmonology Outpatient Clinics of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Federal University of Goiás (UFG). The Asthma Control Test (ACT) and Childhood Asthma Control Test (c-ACT) questionnaires were applied to assess asthma control, the Rhinitis Control Assessment Test (RCAT) to verify rhinitis control, and the Sleep Disorders in Children Scale (EDSC). The data obtained were tabulated and processed using the SPSS for Windows version 16.0 program, in which the Mann-Whitney or Kruskal-Wall tests were applied to compare the distributions of quantitative variables of the groups (p=5%). Results: A total of 107 children and adolescents with asthma were included, 66 (61.7%) of whom were male, with a mean age of 10.93 ± 3.10 years. 47 (43.9%) patients were classified as having uncontrolled asthma, and they had higher EDSC values, which indicates the presence of greater sleep disorders. Regarding rhinitis, 68 (63.6%) had uncontrolled rhinitis, with significantly higher values in the total score (p<0.001) and in all disorders evaluated by the questionnaire (p<0.05) in this group. When associating the presence of asthma and rhinitis, the groups with controlled asthma and rhinitis showed differences in all the components mentioned above in relation to the group with uncontrolled asthma and rhinitis. Conclusion: We conclude that both asthma and AR are related to the presence of sleep disorders in children and adolescents and, when not controlled, may be more harmful to patients. Uncontrolled AR demonstrated a greater impact when compared with non-asthma control.