New research published in the April issue of CHEST, shows that infants, who had at least one parent who snored frequently, were three times more likely to snore frequently than children with no parental history of snoring.
In addition, children who tested positive for atopy, an early indicator for the development of asthma and allergies, were twice as likely to be frequent snorers as compared to nonatopic children.
"Our study shows that children with a parent who frequently snores have a three-fold risk of habitual snoring, supporting the role of hereditary factors in the development of snoring ," said the study's lead author Maninder Kalra, MD, MS, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH. "Snoring is the primary symptom of sleep-disordered breathing, which, in children, is associated with learning disabilities and metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. Early detection and treatment can potentially reduce the incidence of morbidity due to sleep-disordered breathing in children."
Dr. Kalra and colleagues from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati evaluated 681 children (median age 12.6 months) and their atopic parents to determine the prevalence of habitual snoring in infants born to atopic parents and to assess the relationship between habitual snoring, atopic status, and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Parents also completed a questionnaire pertaining both to their snoring and snoring in their child.
Habitual snoring was reported in 15 percent of children, and atopy was seen in 29 percent of children. Among parents, habitual snoring was reported in 20 percent of mothers and 46 percent of fathers. An increased prevalence of habitual snoring was reported in children with atopy (21.5 percent vs 13 percent), in African-American children (31 vs 11.6 percent), and in children with a parental history of habitual snoring (21.8 vs 7.7 percent). Overall, infants who habitually snored were nearly three times as likely to have a parent who habitually snored and twice as likely to present with atopic status. Habitual snorers also were more than three times as likely to be African-American. No association was found between habitual snoring and ETS.