Prevalence and clinical impact of snoring in older community-dwelling adults

Aim: The prevalence and clinical impact of snoring in the independent older adult population is unknown. To address this, we carried out this cross-sectional epidemiological study of community-dwelling independent older adults. Methods: The study data were collected by the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study 2013, a postal survey distributed to a large cohort of independent community-dwelling older adults (aged ≥65 years) in 2013, across 30 municipalities of 14 prefectures. We used data for 24 837 participants (13 135 women, mean age 73.5 years, and 11 702 men, mean age 73.3 years). The association of snoring with airway symptoms and history of hypertension, diabetes and heart disease were investigated using Poisson regression models. Results: The prevalence ratio (95% confidence intervals) for wheezing according to snoring frequency in men was 1.87 (1.45–2.43) among those who snored on 1–6 nights a week, and 2.95 (2.15–4.05) among those who snored every night. Similar relationships were observed for women. Expectoration, another airway symptom, was also associated with snoring frequency. Furthermore, snoring frequency was associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. Both diabetes and heart disease were associated with snoring frequency in women independent of body mass index, but the association was only observed in men with a normal or lower body mass index. Conclusions: Snoring is a highly prevalent and pathogenic symptom in adults aged ≥65 years. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 1165–1171.