A study from the new report Sleep 2008 finds children with bigger neck sizes for their age seem to be more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, or OSA.
The study concludes that parents of children with bigger neck sizes should be asked if their child snores or makes gasping noises during sleep, also whether they seem excessively sleepy or show signs of hyperactivity. Researchers found the more the neck size deviated from the expected measurement for a given age the higher was the apnea score.
Also, neck size correlated with the apnea score better than a child's body mass index, weight or tonsil size.
