Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of obesity and sleep disorders and the association between them among children in Lanzhou, China. METHODS: The stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select 3 283 primary school students in four districts of Lanzhou of Gansu province. Physical examination and sleep questionnaire were conducted to screen out the children who met the criteria for sleep disorders or obesity as subjects. Among the 3 283 children, 200 healthy children without sleep disorders or obesity were enrolled as the control group. RESULTS: The prevalence rate of obesity among the 3 283 children was 5.76% (189/3 283). Among these 189 obese children, 80 (42.3%) had sleep disorders. The prevalence rate of sleep disorders was 16.24% (533/3 283), and the prevalence rate of obesity among the children with sleep disorders was 24.6% (131/533). Snoring was the most common sleep disorder in obese children. The prevalence rate of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome was 45% (36/80) among obese children with sleep disorders. The obese children had a significantly higher prevalence rate of sleep disorders than the children with normal body weight [42.3% (80/189) vs 20% (40/200), P<0.01]. CONCLUSIONS: There is a close relationship between obesity and sleep disorders in children in Lanzhou, China.