The Association between Sleep Disorders and Fine Manual Dexterity in Adolescent and Young Adults with Down syndrome

The Association between Sleep Disorders and Fine Manual Dexterity in Adolescent and Young Adults with Down syndrome

Background: The high prevalence of fine motor deficits in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is well documented. However, only a few studies have focused on individuals with Down syndrome. In particular, given the presence of sleep disorders and fine motor deficits in this population, more work is needed to examine the effect of sleep disorders on the performance of fine motor skills in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). Methods: Thirty adolescents and young adults with DS participated in the present study. Parents used a validated questionnaire to measure sleep problems in individuals with DS. Fine motor skill, measured by the Purdue Pegboard test (e.g., fine motor dexterity), were also measured in this study. Based on previous studies, we first tested the relationship between chronological age, mental age, and the performance of the Purdue pegboard test. In addition, we tested whether different factors of sleep disorders lead to impaired fine manual dexterity.