Snoring Incidence Triples in Obese Children

Obesity is commonly associated with sleep-disordered breathing and snoring in adults, but a new study confirms the same association in children. Italian researchers compared the frequency of snoring in 44 children with habitual snoring, 138 children with occasional snoring, and 627 children who did not snore. Of the children, 64 were defined as obese, 121 as overweight, and 624 as normal weight. Results showed that the incidence of snoring in obese children was three times (12.5 percent) that of normal weight children (4.6 percent) and more than two times that of overweight children (5.8 percent). In addition, the presence of obstructive sleep apnea in obese children was nearly two times that of normal and overweight children. Researchers conclude that sleep disorders should be addressed in children in order to help prevent comorbitities in adulthood. The article is published in the May issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

CHEST 2010; 137(5):1085–1090