Can sleep-related airway obstruction explain severe daytime sleepiness in a young child with obesity?

Details

This single-child case report describes a 3-year-old girl who had gained excessive weight from birth. She presented with obesity, somnolence, and cyanosis, features characteristic of Pickwickian syndrome.

Her obesity was familial and exogenous, with no endocrine or neurologic anomaly. Her respiratory center’s sensitivity to carbon dioxide was normal.

The report attributed her excessive somnolence to obesity: during sleep, it caused airway obstruction, apnea, and awakening, ultimately resulting in sleep deprivation. The sleep apneas and daytime somnolence disappeared with weight reduction. The authors concluded that obesity alone had been responsible for her disorder.