BBC News Online: Health

Nightmare for snorers

Snoring could indicate serious health problems

A team of Swedish scientists found that a combination of snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) appears to be associated with an increased mortality rate from cardiovascular disease.

However, the risk decreased with age and had no effect on death rates past the age of 60.

Men below the age of 60 with both snoring and EDS had a 2.7 times higher death rate than men who suffered from neither problem.

The researchers followed 3,100 men, aged 30 to 69, who responded to a questionnaire about sleeping, snoring and their family history of various diseases.

One in three snored

One third of the men said they snored and 11% also suffered from sleepiness during the day because of their snoring.

During a 10-year follow-up period, 213 men died. The main cause of death for 88 of the men was cardiovascular disease.

After comparing the deceased men's questionnaires with their death certificates, the researchers discovered the increased risk. The results were published in Thorax magazine.