Daytime sleepiness relates to snoring independent of the apnea-hypopnea index in women from the general population.
OBJECTIVE
The aim was to investigate the significance of snoring and sleep apnea on daytime symptoms in a population-based sample of women.


METHODS
From the general population, 400 women aged 20 to 70 years were randomly selected, with oversampling of habitually snoring women. The women were investigated using full-night polysomnography and a questionnaire. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was calculated, and women who acknowledged snoring loudly and disturbingly often or very often were considered habitual snorers.


RESULTS
Habitual snoring was independently related to excessive daytime sleepiness (odds ratio [OR], 2.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31 to 3.99), to falling asleep involuntarily during the day (OR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.06 to 4.21), to waking up unrefreshed (OR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.30 to 3.52), to daytime fatigue (OR, 2.77; 95% CI, 1.54 to 4.99), and to a dry mouth on awakening (OR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.22 to 3.27) after adjustment for AHI, age, body mass index (BMI), smoking, total sleep time, percentage of slow-wave sleep, and percentage of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. An AHI > or = 15/h was only related to a dry mouth on awakening after adjustment for snoring, age, BMI, smoking, total sleep time, percentage of slow-wave sleep, and percentage of REM sleep (OR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.14 to 4.40). An AHI of 5 to 15/h was not related to any daytime symptom.


CONCLUSIONS
Excessive daytime sleepiness and daytime fatigue are related to habitual snoring independent of the apnea-hypopnea frequency, age, obesity, smoking, and sleep parameters in a population-based sample of women, but not to the AHI. This indicates that snoring is an independent cause of excess daytime sleepiness and not merely a proxy for sleep apnea.
Svensson
Malin
M
Department of Surgical Sciences, Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Uppsala University, Uppsala. Electronic address: malin.l.svensson@akademiska.se.
Franklin
Karl A
KA
Department of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden.
Theorell-Haglöw
Jenny
J
Department of Medical Sciences, Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Uppsala University, Uppsala.
Lindberg
Eva
E
Department of Medical Sciences, Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Uppsala University, Uppsala.