Sleep complaints: snoring and daytime sleepiness in pregnant and pre-eclamptic women.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether snoring and sleepiness are linked in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia.


METHODS
We recruited 167 healthy and 82 pre-eclamptic women in the third trimester of pregnancy and 160 non-pregnant women. Subjects and their partners completed a sleep questionnaire. Height, weight, neck circumferences and blood pressure were recorded for all.


RESULTS
Pregnant and pre-eclamptic women were (mean +/-SD) 36+/-3.6 and 36+/-3 weeks pregnant, respectively. Age and height did not differ significantly between groups (P>0.2), but pre-eclamptic women were heavier than pregnant and non-pregnant women and had higher BMI than pregnant women before pregnancy (all P<0.05). Thirty-two percent of control, 55% of pregnant and 85% of pre-eclamptic women snored (P<0.001), but pre-pregnancy snoring rates (pre-eclamptic=36%, healthy pregnant women=27%) were similar to those in non-pregnant women (32%) (P>0.7). Sleepiness was reported by 12% of non-pregnant, 23% of pregnant and 15% of pre-eclamptic women (P<0.04), but non-pregnant women had lower mean Epworth Sleepiness scores than both pregnant and pre-eclamptic groups (P<0.001). Snoring was correlated with (P=0.002), but explained only <2%, of the variance in sleepiness.


CONCLUSIONS
Snoring and sleepiness increased in the third trimester of pregnancy, particularly in patients with pre-eclampsia. However, the study suggests that sleepiness in pregnancy is largely due to factors other than snoring or breathing pauses.
Izci
Bilgay
B
Department of Sleep Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Martin
Sascha E
SE
Dundas
Kirsty C
KC
Liston
Wang A
WA
Calder
Andrew A
AA
Douglas
Neil J
NJ
D000328:Adult; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000150:complications*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third / Q000502:physiology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012913:Snoring / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*