Prospective cohort study on change in weight status and occurrence of habitual snoring in children

To determine the association between the change in weight status and newly developed snoring in children.

This was a prospective cohort study.

Structured interviews were conducted at participants' homes, and physical examinations were performed at The-pa Community Hospital in Southern Thailand.

Cohort subjects (n = 1076) were recruited from children born over a 1-year period between November 2000 and October 2001 in The-pa District of Songkhla Province, Southern Thailand. Data collection was performed when the child was 5 and 8.5 years old.

The child's snoring, weight, height and tonsillar size were examined. The change in weight status was categorised into four groups: not obese, became not obese, became obese and persistently obese.

Of 1076, 983 subjects (91.4%) completed both surveys. The overall prevalence of habitual snoring decreased from 13% at age 5 to 10.9% at age 8.5 years. Of the 855 children who reported not snoring in the first survey, 61 (7.1%) had become habitual snorers. After adjusting for tonsillar size, children who had become obese or were persistently obese had a significant association with becoming a new snorer with an odds ratio of 5.8 (Confidence interval, CI, 1.3-25.8) and 11.7 (CI, 2.5-54.9), respectively.

Children with newly developed obesity at 8.5 years old were strongly associated with new snoring occurrence, which is similar to the findings of long-term follow-up studies in adults. Our findings support the idea that the patterns of changes in weight status and snoring development in adults begin as early as the primary school years.