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Risk factors for habitual snoring among children aged 2–14 years in Chengdu, Sichuan

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Habitual snoring (HS) is a prominent symptom of sleep-disordered breathing; thus, it is also important to consider the associated, multidimensional risk factors for HS in children. This study was aimed to identify risk factors for HS in children.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was performed in Chengdu. Children aged 2–14 years from four districts were randomly chosen to participate. Questionnaires were voluntarily completed by the children’s guardians.

Results

The survey included 926 boys and 622 girls, who were an average of 6.4 ± 3.0 years old. The sample included 463 habitual snorers (30.4%), 683 occasional snorers (44.8%), and 402 nonsnorers (26.4%). HS was found in 51.8% of children under 7 years old and 26.6% of children aged 7 years old or older. The prevalence of pregnancy complications was significantly lower in mothers who bore children with HS (p = .006). Among the HS group, 86.6% had an immediate family member who snores. Breastfeeding duration among the HS group was significantly less than among the occasional snoring and nonsnoring groups. History of symptoms of allergic rhinitis, rhinosinusitis, tonsillitis, and pneumonia/bronchitis in the past 6 months was associated with HS. Likewise, maternal smoking during pregnancy, maternal exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy, and child exposure to secondhand smoke were also associated with HS.

Conclusion

The prevalence of HS was higher in children under 7 years old. Having a mother with more education, a family history of snoring, a shorter period of breastfeeding, upper respiratory tract inflammation, and passive smoking are important risk factors for HS. Pregnancy complications may be associated with lower prevalence of snoring in childhood.

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Data availability

The key identity information of participants was deleted from the data, and other parts are presented in the submission attachment.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are deeply indebted to the teachers of the schools which were included in the research and are very grateful to the parents who carefully completed the questionnaires. This research was funded by clinical research incubation project of West China Hospital of Sichuan University (19HXFH037).

Funding

Clinical research incubation project of West China Hospital of Sichuan University (19HXFH037).

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

JZ completed research design, questionnaire design, questionnaire distribution, and collection. LL completed research design, questionnaire design, questionnaire distribution and collection, data statistics, and article writing. ZJ and YZ and LY completed questionnaire distribution and collection. PZ completed the statistics and analysis of the data.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jian Zou.

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Ethics approval

This study was approved by the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. This study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

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Written informed consent was provided by parents before they began completing the questionnaire.

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Not applicable.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Lei, L., Zou, J., Jiang, Z. et al. Risk factors for habitual snoring among children aged 2–14 years in Chengdu, Sichuan. Sleep Breath 27, 661–667 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-022-02670-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-022-02670-7

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