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Who are the "occasional" snorers?
Dan Teculescu1, Bernard Hannhart, Catherine Aubry
1INSERM Unit 420, Vandoeuvre, France. Dan.Teculescu@nancy.inserm.fr
Chest
|August 13, 2002
Summary
Approximately 9% of middle-aged men occasionally snore, a distinct group with sleep symptoms between non-snorers and habitual snorers. Identifying occasional snorers separately is crucial to avoid bias in sleep studies.
Area of Science:
- Sleep Medicine
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Occasional snoring is prevalent in middle-aged men.
- Understanding the characteristics of occasional snorers is important for accurate sleep disorder assessment.
- Previous studies have often grouped occasional snorers with non-snorers or habitual snorers, potentially leading to bias.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of occasional snoring in middle-aged men.
- To compare anthropometric variables and sleep-related symptoms of occasional snorers with other snoring categories.
- To highlight the importance of classifying occasional snorers as a distinct group in epidemiological studies.
Main Methods:
- A field survey was conducted on 499 middle-aged men in France.
- Participants completed a sleep questionnaire and had anthropometric variables recorded.
- Subjects were categorized based on snoring frequency, with occasional snorers representing 8.6% of the sample.
Main Results:
- Occasional snorers showed anthropometric similarities to habitual snorers.
- Compared to non-snorers, occasional snorers were older and had larger neck girths.
- Occasional snorers were more likely to snore loudly and experience breathing pauses during sleep.
Conclusions:
- Occasional snoring affects approximately 9% of middle-aged men.
- Occasional snorers possess distinct characteristics that warrant separate classification.
- Excluding occasional snorers from epidemiological analyses can introduce bias; they should be recognized as a unique category.