Seong Joon Kim1,2

1Department of Health Care, Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul, 2Department of Preventive Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea


Background: Snoring is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. There has been little research done on the factors associated with snoring among adults by sex in Korea. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of habitual snoring in the Korean population and to evaluate its related factors by sex.
Methods: The study subjects were 2,007 volunteers aged 40-69 years who participated in regular health check-ups (male: 434, female: 1,573) from May to December in 2012. Standard interviews, anthropometrics and biochemical studies were conducted. Habitual snoring was defined as snoring more than 4 days per week.
Results: The prevalence of snoring in our sampling pool was 52.9% (male 61.6%, female 47.1%) and habitual snoring was 13.7% (male 21.1%, female 11.5%). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that habitual snoring was independently associated with sex, age, hypertension and body mass index (P<0.05). Fatty liver was independently associated with habitual snoring in males whereas age, waist circumference and body mass index were independently associated with habitual snoring in females.
Conclusions: Snoring and habitual snoring may be predisposing factors for cardiovascular disease. There are significant associations between habitual snoring and sex, age, alcohol use, hypertension and body mass index.
Korean J Health Promot 2013;13(2):43-51

Keywords: Snoring, Prevalence, Sex factors