Washington (PTI): Parents, please note -- make it a point to pay close attention when you child goes to sleep tonight, for a new study has revealed that snoring and other nighttime breathing problems could hamper a child's growth.

Earlier studies suggested a possible link between sleep disordered breathing (SDB) -- which interrupts a period of the sleep cycle when human body secretes large amounts of growth hormone -- and growth delays in children but none drew any definitive conclusion.

Now a team at Yeshiva University, led by Karen Bonuck, carried out the new study to gain clarity.

Researchers collected and re-analysed data from 20 well-designed studies -- these studies involved children with enlarged tonsils or adenoids the principal causes of SDB, the media reported.

All the children had their tonsils/adenoids surgically removed either to treat symptoms of SDB or recurrent infection or both. They were then monitored to measure the impact of the surgery which is usually curative on growth.

"Our meta-analysis found significant increases in both standardised height and weight following surgery. In other words, while all the children were expected to continue to grow after they underwent surgery, their growth rates were much greater than expected.

"Our findings suggest that primary-care providers and specialists should consider the possibility of SDB when they see children with growth failure," Dr Bonuck said.

The findings are published in the 'Archives of Disease in Childhood' journal.