Premium
Natural history of snoring in H ong K ong adolescents
Author(s) -
Ng Daniel K,
Chan Chunghong,
Ng Eugene P
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/jpc.12607
Subject(s) - medicine , body mass index , cohort , asthma , risk factor , pediatrics , demography , natural history , physical therapy , sociology
Aim To determine the natural history of snoring in children when they reached adolescence and the underlying risk factors for persistence of habitual snoring. Methods A follow‐up telephone survey was conducted to determine the natural history of snoring in children who reached adolescence. The targeted interviewees of the follow‐up survey were parents of 3047 children. Adolescents who were snoring ≥6 nights a week were defined as habitual snorers. Potential risk factors for persistent and incident habitual snoring were studied, including age, gender, allergic rhinitis, asthma, body mass index ( BMI ), sleep duration and daytime sleepiness. Results Of the 3047 subjects, 2005 (65.8%) were successfully interviewed by phone. The prevalence of habitual snorers was 12.7%. Ninety‐one adolescents were persistent habitual snorers. Allergic rhinitis, male gender and higher BMI at follow‐up were identified as significant risk factors for persistent habitual snoring. A further 163 children were identified as incident habitual snorers. The risk factors for incident habitual snoring included male gender, asthma, higher BMI at follow‐up and younger age at the first survey. In the current study, the mean sleep duration was 7.6 ± 1.0 h. Overall, 90% of the current cohort slept less than the lower limit of international recommendations for sleep duration. Conclusions Around 40.6% of habitually snoring children continued to snore habitually as adolescents in the current study, while 9.2% of the initial non‐habitual snorers became habitual snorers. Male gender and higher BMI were significant risk factors for both persistent and incident habitual snoring.