Young children who snore more likely to be hyperactive later on

A new study has found that young children who snore could possibly be at greater risk of becoming hyperactive later, than those who sleep quietly.

The study strengthens earlier conclusions linking sleep disorders and hyperactivity and also appears to confirm that it is the snoring that comes first.

Dr Ronald Chervin and colleagues, at the University of Michigan reported in 2002 that among 229 children who were studied, those who snored regularly were twice as likely to later be hyperactive or have attention issues than non-snorers, and for boys under the age of eight, the rate was four times higher.

The team has now confirmed those initial findings and found even more cases of hyperactivity.

Now they say that young children who snore are four times more likely to become hyperactive four years later.

Even after they took into account which children had already had been identified as hyperactive during the first study, their findings held up, says Chervin

This new study, he says, is the first long-term, prospective research to show that regular snoring and the possible presence of sleep apnea, predict future development of inattention and hyperactivity.

The study is published in the journal Sleep.