Socioeconomic disparities in pediatric sleep disordered breathing

There are well-known health disparities among underrepresented minority and economically disadvantaged children with sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Disparities span the spectrum of baseline disease prevalence, the severity of SDB, treatment patterns, perioperative complications, and long-term outcomes. According to the Institute of Medicine, disparities are “racial or ethnic differences in the quality of healthcare that are not due to access-related factors or clinical needs, preferences, and appropriateness of intervention.” Moreover, minority children are at greater risk for common comorbid features of SDB, including attention deficits, learning delay, and obesity. As such, SDB health disparities in children must be understood and addressed in the interest of health equity and to improve the quality of care for SDB across all pediatric populations. In this chapter, we will review known disparities in SDB related to patient racial or ethnic background and socioeconomic status, explore potential contributing factors for these disparities, and discuss strategies for mitigation.