Date of Award

8-9-2014

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Psychology

Sub-Department

Clinical-Community Psychology

First Advisor

Jeffery Schatz

Abstract

Sickle-cell disease (SCD) refers to a group of genetic blood disorders resulting from the inheritance of genes for S-type hemoglobin. The disease is life-long and is associated with multiple complications including pain episodes, organ damage, and neurological morbidities such as stroke, and silent cerebral infarcts which often lead to cognitive dysfunction. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a serious medical condition characterized by intermittent hypoxemia (reduction in blood oxygen levels), hypoxia, and fragmented sleep that can lead patients to suffer from daytime behavioral and cognitive dysfunction and reduced quality of life. Children with SCD are at high risk for developing OSA, which can increase the likelihood for developing cognitive deficits. The prevalence of OSA in SCD is currently not well-documented; moreover, the relationship between the two conditions and its combined effect of neurocognitive functioning has received little attention to date. The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence rate of OSA in children with SCD in a large clinic-wide sample and examine the relationship between OSA and neurocognitive morbidity in children with SCD.

Rights

© 2014, Tal Katz

Included in

Psychology Commons

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