Abstract: Objective · To investigate the correlation between blood pressure and catecholamine levels in children with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). Methods · January 2014 to December 2014, children and adolescents aged 2 to 12 years old who complained mainly of snoring during sleep were admitted to Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shanghai Childrens Hospital and underwent surgery. All-night polysomnography (PSG) was used to monitor and measure the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in conscious state. According to the blood pressure reference standard of Chinese children and adolescents in 2010, the children with OSAHS were divided into normal blood pressure group, SBP increased group, DBP increased group, and SBP and DBP increased group. The children with OSAHS were divided into light, moderate and severe OSAHS subgroups according to the apnea hypopnea index (AHI) and the lowest oxygen saturation (LSpO2). The correlation between blood pressure and the level of catecholamine was analyzed in the children with OSAHS. Results · Two hundred and twenty-three subjects were included in the analysis. The average SBP was (100.3±9.8) mmHg (1 mmHg0.133 kPa) and the average DBP was (63.0±9.8) mmHg. There were 50 cases (22.42%) diagnosed as hypertension, in which 20 cases (8.97%) were severe hypertension. The 223 children with OSAHS were divided into mild OSAHS subgroup (n59), moderate OSAHS subgroup (n127) and severe OSAHS subgroup (n37) according to OSAHS grades. The difference of adrenaline level between the normal blood pressure group and the DBP increased group was statistically significant (P0.032). The difference of LSpO2 between the DBP increased group and the SBP and DBP increased group was statistically significant (P0.031). There were no significant differences in dopamine and noradrenaline levels among the four groups. There were significant differences in SBP and adrenaline level between OSAHS mild subgroup and moderate subgroup (P0.038, P0.000), but there were no significant differences between the moderate OSAHS subgroup and the severe OSAHS subgroup. There were no significant differences in dopamine and noradrenaline levels among the three OSAHS subgroups. Conclusion · The increase of plasma catecholamine level in children with OSAHS can lead to the increase of SBP, which will increase with the development of OSAHS. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of OSAHS should be taken into consideration.

Key words: obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), children, hypertension, catecholamine