Snoring Intensity Independently Related To Sleepiness

A new study has shown that there's an independent relationship between the intensity of snoring sounds and sleepiness.

The study showed that objectively measured snoring intensity is directly linked to subjective sleepiness independent of the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

The study is the first to use polysomnography and sound measurements to demonstrate the relationship between snoring sounds and sleepiness.

It has revealed that the sound intensity of objectively measured snoring in patients with OSA is independently correlated with subjective sleepiness as measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).

Also, the research revealed that subjective sleepiness is better explained by snoring intensity than by AHI.

A 22 percent variance in ESS scores was influenced by independent variables such as snoring intensity, desaturation severity, daily sleep time, subjective snoring frequency and nasal obstruction symptoms.

However, snoring intensity and AHI could together explain only 15 percent of the variance in ESS scores.

Principal investigator Hiroshi Nakano, MD, PhD, of the department of pulmonology at the Fukuoka National Hospital in Fukuoka, Japan, said that daytime sleepiness is affected not only by the severity of OSA, but also by the loudness of snoring.

"The results were not so surprising, because previous studies in general population have shown an independent relationship between the degree of snoring, by a questionnaire, and sleepiness," said Nakano.