Tonsillectomy for Sleep Apnea May Trigger Weight Gain
By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, July 28, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Tonsillectomies are commonly done to relieve sleep apnea in children, but a new study confirms that the treatment can speed kids' weight gain -- especially if they're already overweight.
The researchers said that's a concern, because obesity is a risk factor for a range of health problems -- including, ironically, sleep apnea. But they're not advising against tonsillectomy for kids who need it.
Instead, they said, doctors and parents should be aware that a healthy diet and exercise become even more important after children have the surgery.
"You can't just treat the sleep apnea. You have to have nutrition and lifestyle counseling, too," said lead researcher Dr. Eliot Katz, a respiratory disease specialist at Boston Children's Hospital.
A pediatric sleep specialist who was not involved in the study agreed.
"Nutrition and exercise are just as important as treating the sleep apnea with a single procedure," said Dr. Sangeeta Chakravorty, who co-directs the pediatric sleep evaluation center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Obstructive sleep apnea arises when constriction in the airways causes repeated pauses in breathing during the night. In children, the most common cause is swelling in the tonsils and adenoids -- infection-fighting tissues in the back of the throat and the nasal cavity, respectively. And surgery to remove those tissues (known technically as adenotonsillectomy) is often recommended.
Doctors have long known that after the surgery, kids can gain weight at an accelerated clip, Chakravorty said.
But the new study, reported online July 28 and in the August print issue of the journal Pediatrics, offers "certainty" that it's actually an effect of the treatment, Katz said.
That's because children in the study were randomly assigned to have surgery or to "watchful waiting" -- putting off surgery and staying with other options, such as medications to better control any nasal allergies or asthma symptoms.
Altogether, 204 children aged 5 to 9 were assigned to have surgery right away, while 192 stuck with watchful waiting. Katz's team found that over seven months, children who underwent surgery showed a quicker average weight gain, versus kids in the comparison group.
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, July 28, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Tonsillectomies are commonly done to relieve sleep apnea in children, but a new study confirms that the treatment can speed kids' weight gain -- especially if they're already overweight.
The researchers said that's a concern, because obesity is a risk factor for a range of health problems -- including, ironically, sleep apnea. But they're not advising against tonsillectomy for kids who need it.
Instead, they said, doctors and parents should be aware that a healthy diet and exercise become even more important after children have the surgery.
"You can't just treat the sleep apnea. You have to have nutrition and lifestyle counseling, too," said lead researcher Dr. Eliot Katz, a respiratory disease specialist at Boston Children's Hospital.
A pediatric sleep specialist who was not involved in the study agreed.
"Nutrition and exercise are just as important as treating the sleep apnea with a single procedure," said Dr. Sangeeta Chakravorty, who co-directs the pediatric sleep evaluation center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Obstructive sleep apnea arises when constriction in the airways causes repeated pauses in breathing during the night. In children, the most common cause is swelling in the tonsils and adenoids -- infection-fighting tissues in the back of the throat and the nasal cavity, respectively. And surgery to remove those tissues (known technically as adenotonsillectomy) is often recommended.
Doctors have long known that after the surgery, kids can gain weight at an accelerated clip, Chakravorty said.
But the new study, reported online July 28 and in the August print issue of the journal Pediatrics, offers "certainty" that it's actually an effect of the treatment, Katz said.
That's because children in the study were randomly assigned to have surgery or to "watchful waiting" -- putting off surgery and staying with other options, such as medications to better control any nasal allergies or asthma symptoms.
Altogether, 204 children aged 5 to 9 were assigned to have surgery right away, while 192 stuck with watchful waiting. Katz's team found that over seven months, children who underwent surgery showed a quicker average weight gain, versus kids in the comparison group.
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