Prevalence Of Self-Reported Snoring, Sleep-Disordered Breathing In Military

Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Article Date: 25 Sep 2006 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

A previous survey of approximately 5,000 United Kingdom residents found that 48 percent of men and 34 percent of women reported habitual or regular snoring. This condition has been associated with male gender, obesity, excessive daytime sleepiness, increasing age, night time awakenings, and smoking and mechanical obstruction in the upper airway. Additional studies report that some two percent of the British population suffers from obstructive sleep apnea, where the patient stops breathing repeatedly during their sleep, often for a minute or longer and as many as hundreds of times during a single night. This is due to a complete obstruction of the airway.

Excessive daytime sleepiness and obstructive sleep apnea are linked to cognitive impairment, a loss of memory, attention, and critical thinking, contributing factors to road traffic accidents and occupational injuries.

Researchers in the United Kingdom administered a questionnaire addressing sleep habits of personnel from two randomly selected Army bases and three Royal Air Force bases in the United Kingdom. The authors of the study, "Prevalence of Self-Reported Snoring and Sleep-Disordered Breathing Among Military Personnel" are Nnaemeka Okpala, Asaad Hosni, Ross Walker, and Ash Zarman, representing the Frimley Park Hospital, Frimley, Surrey, and the Poole General Hospital, Poole, Dorset, all in the United Kingdom. They are presenting their findings at the 110th Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, being held September 17-20, 2006, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Canada.

Methodology

The questionnaire, administered to 1,300 subjects, obtained data that was analyzed using percentages, contingency table methods, and logistic regression modeling. Univariate and multivariate analyses were also conducted. The prevalence of obstructive sleep disorders was calculated by the criteria established by the International Classification of Sleep Disorders.

Results

Analysis of the questionnaire responses revealed the following:

-- Nineteen percent of respondents snored regularly; 7.1 percent were female, 92.9 percent were male. Some 19 percent of total respondents reported they snored some nights.

-- Approximately 40 percent stated they had transient snoring, occasional bouts of the condition caused by excessive use of alcohol, exhaustion, and narcolepsy.

-- Eleven percent reported breathing pauses during sleep and three in ten attributed an accident or near-accident to sleepiness or poor concentration linked to sleep deprivation.

-- Multivariate analysis found that regular snoring was associated with men, breathing pauses during sleep, not waking up refreshed, and increased use of sleeping tablets. Univariate analysis revealed that regular snoring was strongly linked to advancing age, daytime sleepiness, loss of daytime concentration, and obesity.

-- Breathing pauses during sleep was also examined by multivariate and univariate analyses. The former indicated that breathing pauses during sleep was associated with smoking, near miss accidents, snoring and loudness of snoring; the latter found this condition could lead to linked to advancing age, daytime sleepiness, loss of daytime concentration, and obesity.

The survey found that three percent of respondents had obstructive sleep apnea.

Conclusions: The researchers state that these findings indicate that sleep disordered breathing and sleep apnea have an impact on military performance and where suspected should be referred for investigation and treatment.

Similar rates have been found in a civilian population surveyed in a previous study and the military personnel responding to this questionnaire.

Lifestyle changes can alleviate some sleep disorders. Certain surgical procedures can address the most serious cases. In any event, sleep disordered breathing and snoring are medical conditions that need further attention and resources.

American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (AAOHNS)

One Prince St
Alexandria, VA 22314
United States
American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (AAOHNS)

• Additional
• References
• Citations