Abstract Introduction Children with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) are more prone to developing various sleep disorders. This study aimed to 1. Assess the prevalence of sleep disorders and 2. Characterize the polysomnographic difference in children with EDS compared to normal children. Methods This was a single-center retrospective study involving children with confirmed EDS who underwent overnight polysomnography (PSG). OSA severity was categorized by obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (OAHI) as normal ( 1 event/h), mild (1–4.9 events/h), moderate (5–9.9 events/h), or severe (≥ 10 events/h). Results Data from 57 EDSs and 57 matched controls were analyzed. The gender, mean age, and median BMI of the EDS and control groups were 63.2% female, 13 years, and 21.1, versus 68.4% female, 12 years, and 23.5, respectively. For both groups, the majority were referred to sleep medicine by a general pediatrician. Snoring was the most common referral reason for the normal group (p=0.029), and insomnia (p=0.029) and sleep disturbances (p=0.012) were common reasons for the EDS group. The average number of visits to Sleep Medicine was 5.5 for the EDS group and 4.1 for the normal group. It was found that POTS (p 0.0001) and fibromyalgia (p=0.001) were significantly more associated with EDS than the normal group. Primary snoring and OSA were commonly diagnosed among both groups, with no statistical significance between them. Daytime sleepiness (p=0.021) and insomnia (p=0.029) were common in the EDS group. In the EDS group, 35.1% were diagnosed with mild OSA, 5.3% with moderate OSA, and 5.3% with severe OSA. In the normal group, 24.6% were diagnosed with mild OSA, 12.3% with moderate OSA, and 3.5% with severe OSA. Sleep architecture (total sleep time, sleep latency, wake after sleep (WASO), sleep efficacy, N1, N2, N3, REM sleep, and arousal index) showed no significant difference between groups. Respiratory parameters such as AHI, SaO₂ nadir, and maximum CO₂ also showed no significant difference. Conclusion While OSA was equally prevalent in both groups, daytime sleepiness and insomnia were highly prevalent in EDS. There were no significant differences noted in sleep architecture or respiratory parameters between the two groups. Support (if any)
Howard et al. (2026) studied this question.