Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Oct 15;6(5):475-8.

Does snoring intensity correlate with the severity of obstructive sleep apnea?

Nimrod Maimon  1 , Patrick J Hanly
Affiliations

Does snoring intensity correlate with the severity of obstructive sleep apnea?

Nimrod Maimon et al. J Clin Sleep Med. .

Abstract

Study objectives: It is commonly believed that louder snoring is associated with more severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We evaluated the association between snoring intensity and the severity of OSA to better understand this clinical correlation. We also investigated the relationships between body mass index (BMI), neck size, sleep stage, and body position with the intensity of snoring.

Methods: Overnight polysomnography, including objective measurement of snoring intensity, in 1643 habitual snorers referred for evaluation of sleep apnea.

Results: Sixty-five percent of patients were male; the cohort had a mean age of 48.7 +/- 13.7 y and BMI of 30.9 +/- 8.8 kg/m2. The mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was 28.2 +/- 26. The severity of OSA was graded as no OSA (AHI < 5), mild (AHI 5 to 15), moderate (AHI 15 to 30), severe (AHI 30 to 50), and very severe OSA (AHI > 50). Snoring intensity increased progressively across all 5 categories of AHI frequency and ranged from 46.3 +/- 3.6 db in patients with AHI < 5 to 60.5 +/- 6.4 db in those with AHI > 50. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between the intensity of snoring and the AHI (r = 0.66, p < 0.01).

Conclusions: The intensity of snoring increases as OSA becomes more severe.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlation between severity of OSA and snoring intensity
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Young T, Palta M, Dempsey J, et al. The occurrence of sleep-disordered breathing among middle-aged adults. N Engl J Med. 1993;32:1230–5. - PubMed
    1. Ohayon MM, Guilleminault C, Priest RG, et al. Snoring and breathing pauses during sleep: telephone interview survey of a United Kingdom population sample. BMJ. 1997;314:860–3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Whyte KF, Allen MB, Jeffrey AA, et al. Clinical features of the sleep apnoea/ hypopnoea syndrome. Q J Med. 1989;72:659–66. - PubMed
    1. Hoffstein V, Mateika S, Anderson D. Snoring: is it in the ear of the beholder? Sleep. 1994;17:522–6. - PubMed
    1. Flemons WW, Whitelaw WA, Brant R, et al. Likelihood ratios for a sleep apnea clinical prediction rule. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1994;150:1279–85. - PubMed