Hospital admissions for children with sleep disorders rises

NHS Digital data has revealed that thousands of children and teenagers are being admitted to hospital for sleep disorders, with admissions for conditions almost doubling in the last seven years.

The Guardian analysed data from NHS Digital and found that hospital admissions for under-16s with a primary diagnosis of sleep disorder rose from 6,549 in 2012-13 to 9,451 in 2017-18 and 11,313 in 2018-19. This has led to health experts to claim that the trend proves ‘a hidden public health problem’, which many attribute to rising levels of obesity, excessive use of social media and growing numbers of children with mental health problems.

The NHS data is for sleep conditions that were severe enough to warrant admission to hospital. This meant they were under the care of the hospital, as opposed to being an outpatient visiting for an appointment, and were usually given a bed, even if they didn’t end up staying overnight.

The majority of the admissions were for sleep apnoea, a serious disorder that occurs when breathing is interrupted at night. Sleep apnoea has many different possible causes, but in adults, the most common cause of obstructive sleep apnoea is excess weight and obesity.

Vicki Dawson, the founder of the NHS Doncaster-funded Children’s Sleep Charity, said: “We find it hard to meet the demand due to our very limited resources. The rise will be linked to a number of factors, firstly, sleep-disordered breathing issues in children which is linked to obesity. It is commonly recognised that there is a problem around childhood obesity in the UK. What isn’t recognised is that poor sleep quality can be a driver for it, impacting on the release of hormones that manage appetite and hunger.”