Abstract
The syndrome of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has emerged over the last decades as an important risk factor for heart and metabolic disease, and also, for neurocognitive dysfunction. The four major components of this condition are intermittent hypoxia, hypercapnia, intrathoracic pressure changes and sleep fragmentation. Several pathophysiological mechanisms are likely to be involved, such as increased oxidative stress, systemic inflammation and endothelial and autonomic dysfunction. Surgical treatment for OSA has been shown to be effective at normalizing endothelial function, reducing levels of inflammatory markers, and to improve the apnea-hypopnea index and sleep fragmentation, but this effect is smaller in obese children. The high prevalence of childhood obesity has changed the phenotypic expression of the disease, aggravating the problem and creating the need for effective interventions for this high-risk population. The aim of this study is to describe in detail the consequences of OSA on pediatric populations.Los contenidos publicados en esta revista están protegidos bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0). Esto significa que cualquier persona es libre de compartir, usar y construir a partir de este artículo, incluso con fines comerciales, siempre que se otorgue el crédito apropiado al autor original, se proporcione un enlace a la licencia, se indique el nombre y edición de la Revista.
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