Abstract

Our objective was to ascertain the global prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in the pediatric population. We conducted a comprehensive and methodical search and assessment of published papers regarding the occurrence of obstructive sleep apnea in pediatric populations. We have selected reliable databases for biological literature, such as PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, as well as local resources. For this search, we utilized terms such as "Obstructive Sleep Apnea," "Sleep Apnea," and "Sleep apnea prevalence" in different combinations. We have discovered a total of 76 studies that are relevant to our research. However, only 11 of these studies have met the criteria required for analysis. The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea was estimated to be 3.5% (95% CI 3.3%-3.7%) based on pooled data. However, the occurrence of obstructive sleep apnea differed in each study. Statistical heterogeneity was observed with a high degree of certainty (I2=0.99; P

Key words: Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Prevalence, Pediatrics