NORMATIVE DATA ON SNORING - A COMPARISON BETWEEN YOUNGER AND OLDER ADULTS

Snoring is a common sleep-related behaviour, Increased body mass index (BMI), cranio-facial anatomical features, and older age have been lin ked to the occurrence of snoring. While mostly middle-aged populations have been studied for the occurrence of snoring and sleep-related bre athing abnormality, this study was designed to assess the subjective r eport of snoring and the objective measurement of snoring at the two e xtremes of human age, The study design called for measurement of snori ng in two age groups (college students; n=155 and older subjects; mean age 64.1 yrs n=134) with a mean age difference of 45 yrs. Snoring was assessed with a validated recording device, A validated questionnaire was used to subjectively assess snoring and obtain relevant sleep-rel ated information, Students and older subjects differed in the self-rep ort of snoring, While 83% of students reported ''never'' or ''rarely'' snoring only 35% of older subjects fell into these categories, Measur ement of snoring during sleep revealed that students spent more time d uring sleep with continuous snoring than older subjects. In older subj ects, a reduction in continuous snoring was accompanied by an increase in apnoeic snoring, Subjective snoring frequency correlated with cont inuous snoring in students only, A positive family history of snoring increased the odds ratio for self-reported snoring but not for recorde d snoring, It has been shown that snoring frequency can vary depending on age and that the congruency between perceived snoring frequency an d recorded snoring is influenced by the age of an individual.