Snoring increases risk of cardiovascular disease

Loud snoring with breathing pauses has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and emergency visits to hospitals, a new study says.

The research found loud snorers had 40 per cent greater odds of having hypertension, 34 per cent greater odds of having a heart attack and 67 per cent greater odds of having a stroke, compared with people who did not snore, after statistical adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, diabetes, level of education, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

Quiet snoring was associated only with an increased risk for hypertension in women. Loud snoring was also associated with increased use of health care resources (emergency visits and hospitalisation),it added.

 findings suggest loud snoring with breathing pauses carries a significantly increased risk for cardiovascular disease and is close to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) on the spectrum of sleep disordered breathing,''

''Snoring is a sound made in the upper airway of your throat as you sleep. It is a sign that your airway is being partially blocked,''

''About one half of people who snore loudly have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) happens when the tissue in the back of the throat collapses to block the entire airway. This keeps air from getting in to the lungs. It can happen a few times a night or several hundred times per night,'' Science daily quoted her as saying.

The study, published in the journal Sleep, found habitual snoring occurred in about 24 per cent of adult women and 40 per cent of adult men. Both men and women were more likely to snore as they age.

Men, however, became less likely to snore after the age of 70, it added.

It also found that snoring was more common in people who were overweight. It may increase during pregnancy. Factors such as drinking, smoking, using muscle relaxers and using drugs also increased the likelihood of snoring.