A COMMUNITY STUDY OF SNORING AND SLEEP-DISORDERED BREATHING - SYMPTOMS

Four hundred forty-one subjects 34 to 69 yr of age were recruited from a random sample of the community. The sample was biased in favor of m en, snorers, and subjects with subjective sleep complaints. They answe red a questionnaire and were monitored in their homes for sleep-disord ered breathing (SDB). This report concerns the presence of symptoms as sociated with the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome in the subjec ts with SDB detected in this community sample. Most of the symptoms co mmonly recognized as occurring in OSA were associated with SDB in our sample: snoring that disturbed the sleep of other persons, reports of apnea, reports of gasping or choking sounds during sleep, and finding the bedclothes in disarray in the mornings had significant univariate associations with SDB. Nocturnal choking and morning headache were neg atively associated with SDB. Excessive daytime somnolence (EDS) was re ported by 41% of those with SDB, but it was also reported by 37% of sn orers without SDB and by 37% of nonsnorers. We conclude that the sympt oms seen in clinic patients with OSA also occur in subjects with SDB w ho have not presented for medical attention. Enumeration of these symp toms by questionnaire, however, is a poor test for OSA in the communit y. EDS was reported by a higher than expected proportion of subjects n ot affected by SDB, suggesting that causes of self-reported EDS other than SDB may be common.