EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY-OF-LIFE OF MALE SNORERS USING THE NOTTINGHAM HEALTH PROFILE

Many snorers complain of tiredness during the day, but little is known about the impact of snoring on daily life in other respects. The obje ctive of this study was to assess the quality of life of middle-aged m en who were heavy snorers. We used the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) , which has been utilized during the last two decades as an instrument for evaluating the influence different medical conditions have on qua lity of life. Forty-two men (median 45 years, mean BMI 26 kg/m(2) and mean Respiratory Disturbance Index 8.6) completed quality of life ques tionnaires. The answers were compared with those of a population sampl e of 786 men from the region with the same mean age. There were signif icant differences between the snorers and the population sample in the total score for quality of life (p = 0.001) and the sections about en ergy (p < 0.001) and emotional reactions (p = 0.02). There were highly significant differences in the frequency of health-related problems a mong the snoring men compared with the population sample in the abilit y to perform tasks around the home (p < 0.001), social life (p = 0.003 ), family relationship (p < 0.001) and sexual life (p = 0.001). When t he snorers were compared with results reported from patients suffering from other medical conditions (hypertensives, growth hormone deficien cy myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), we f ound an equal level of total mean score and negative influence on thei r quality of life. The study illustrates that snoring men have a poor quality of life, comparable to that of patients with chronic diseases.