Do You Snore? This Could Be a Warning of Serious Diseases
A new study on sleep has found that nighttime discomfort may be an early warning sign of a serious illness. Overweight, middle-aged men are particularly at risk.
Sleep experts at Flinders University conducted research that found that many regular snorers – particularly overweight middle-aged men – were more likely to have high blood pressure.
The study was published in the journal Nature Digital Medicine. “For the first time, we can objectively say that there is a significant association between regular snoring at night and high blood pressure,” said one of the study’s authors, Dr. Bastien Lechat, of the College of Medicine and Public Health.
“We found that 15 percent of all study participants, who were mostly overweight men, snored on average more than 20 percent of the nights and that this regular nighttime snoring was associated with elevated blood pressure,” he said. He added that the study results underscore the importance of considering snoring as a significant factor in the treatment of sleep problems, especially in the context of treating hypertension.
Snoring and sleep apnea cause hypertension
“We found that people who snored regularly had almost double the risk of uncontrolled hypertension. The risk almost doubled in people who snored regularly and had sleep apnoea, compared with people who didn’t snore regularly,” said Professor Danny Eckert, director of sleep health at Flinders University.
Poor sleep quality due to snoring itself can increase the risk of hypertension.
The study used sleep monitoring data collected by a sensor placed under the mattress to detect snoring and sleep apnea. Data was also collected by a home blood pressure monitor installed in more than 12,000 participants worldwide. Data collection lasted nine months.
This is the largest study to date to assess the potential link between snoring, sleep apnea and hypertension, conducted using an objective home assessment.
