title: Snoring and the risk of ischemic brain infarction.
abstract: To determine if a history of snoring is a risk factor for brain infarction, I conducted a case-control study of risk factors for ischemic stroke using 177 consecutive male patients aged 16-60 (mean 49) years with acute brain infarction. For each patient I chose an age-matched (+/- 6 years) male control. Arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease, snoring (habitually or often), and heavy drinking (greater than 300 g/wk) were risk factors in the stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis. The odds ratio of snoring for brain infarction was 2.13. By McNemar's test this association increased strongly if a history of sleep apnea, excessive daytime sleepiness, and obesity were all present with snoring (odds ratio 8.00). My study indicates that snoring may be a risk factor for ischemic stroke, possibly because of the higher prevalence of an obstructive sleep apnea syndrome among snorers than nonsnorers.
authors.affiliation: Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Palomäki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000150:complications; D012913:Snoring