title: A community study of snoring and sleep-disordered breathing. Prevalence.
abstract: We conducted a study of the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in subjects derived from a random sample of the population. A total of 2,202 subjects 35 to 69 yr of age were approached. Four hundred forty-one answered a questionnaire concerning their sleep symptoms, general health, and habits such as alcohol consumption, and they were monitored for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). The sample was biased in favor of snorers and those with other subjective sleep complaints. Fifty-six percent of the subjects were men. Of the 441 subjects 79 (17.9%) had SDB (more than 15 episodes of apnea or hypopnea per hour: respiratory distress index [RDI] > or = 15), 289 were snorers but had RDI < 15, and 73 were nonsnorers. The prevalence of SDB in this sample was therefore at least 3.6% (79 of 2,204). The minimum prevalence in men was 5.7%, and in women it was 1.2%. Logistic regression identified only male sex as an independent predictor of snoring without SDB (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 3.24; 95% CI, 1.33 to 7.82), body mass index (adjusted OR for an increase of 5 kg/m2, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.85 to 1.05), and alcohol consumption (adjusted OR for an increase of 10 g/day, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.84 to 1.37) were not significant predictors of snoring. The independent predictors of SDB among snorers were age (adjusted OR for an increase of 5 yr, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.47) and neck circumference (adjusted OR for an increase of 2 cm, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.00).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Medicine, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hensley
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Saunders
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D017286:Polysomnography; D015995:Prevalence; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology; D015983:Selection Bias; D012737:Sex Factors; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012913:Snoring / Q000453:epidemiology*