Abstract
BackgroundHabitual snoring, a prominent symptom of sleep-disordered breathing, is an important indicator for a number of health problems in children. Compared to adults, large epidemiological studies on childhood habitual snoring and associated predisposing factors are extremely scarce. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of habitual snoring among Chinese school-aged children.MethodsA random sample of 20,152 children aged 5.08 to 11.99 years old participated in a cross-sectional survey, which was conducted in eight cities of China. Parent-administrated questionnaires were used to collect information on children's snoring frequency and the possible correlates.ResultsThe prevalence of habitual snoring was 12.0% (14.5% for boys vs. 9.5% for girls) in our sampled children. Following factors were associated with an increased risk for habitual snoring: lower family income (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.46), lower father's education (OR = 1.38 and 1.14 for middle school or under and high school of educational level, respectively), breastfeeding duration < 6 months (OR = 1.17), pregnancy maternal smoking (OR = 1.51), obesity (OR = 1.50), overweight (OR = 1.35), several respiratory problems associated with atopy and infection, such as chronic/allergic rhinitis (OR = 1.94), asthma (OR = 1.43), adenotonsillar hypertrophy (OR = 2.17), and chronic otitis media (OR = 1.31), and family history of habitual snoring (OR = 1.70).ConclusionThe prevalence of habitual snoring in Chinese children was similar to that observed in other countries. The potential predisposing factors covered socioeconomic characteristics, environmental exposures, chronic health problems, and family susceptibility. Compared to socioeconomic status and family susceptibility, environmental exposures and chronic health problems had greater impact, indicating childhood habitual snoring could be partly prevented by health promotion and environmental intervention.
Highlights
Habitual snoring (HS), a prominent symptom of sleepdisordered breathing (SDB), usually defined as the presence of loud snoring at least three nights per week, is prevalent in children [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
While the evidence for the existence of HS faced by many children and an association between HS and its negative consequences is becoming quite impressive, increasing attention should be focused on potential risk factors associated with childhood HS
After the permissions were obtained from these schools, students who were eligible to participate in this study were invited to take the questionnaires on sleep behaviors and personal and family information to their parents, with a cover letter explaining the objectives of the project and instructions on how to complete the questionnaires
Summary
Habitual snoring (HS), a prominent symptom of sleepdisordered breathing (SDB), usually defined as the presence of loud snoring at least three nights per week, is prevalent in children [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. While the evidence for the existence of HS faced by many children and an association between HS and its negative consequences is becoming quite impressive, increasing attention should be focused on potential risk factors associated with childhood HS. The prevalence and potential predisposing factors regarding HS may vary between different racial groups. A prominent symptom of sleep-disordered breathing, is an important indicator for a number of health problems in children. Large epidemiological studies on childhood habitual snoring and associated predisposing factors are extremely scarce. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of habitual snoring among Chinese school-aged children
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