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The prevalence and correlates of habitual snoring during pregnancy

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Abstract

Purpose

Mounting evidence implicate habitual snoring, a prominent symptom of sleep-disordered breathing, as an important risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes including preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. Little, however, is known about the determinants of habitual snoring among pregnant women. We sought to assess its prevalence and to identify maternal characteristics associated with habitual snoring during pregnancy.

Methods

Pregnant women (N = 1,303) receiving prenatal care provided information about habitual snoring before and during pregnancy in in-person interviews completed in early pregnancy. We calculated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI) from multivariable models designed to identify factors associated with snoring during pregnancy.

Results

Approximately 7.3 % of pregnant women reported habitual snoring during early pregnancy. The odds of habitual snoring during pregnancy was strongly related with maternal reports of habitual snoring prior to the index pregnancy (aOR = 24.32; 95 % CI, 14.30–41.51). Advanced maternal age (≥35 years) (aOR = 2.02; 95 % CI, 1.11–3.68), history of pregestational diabetes (aOR = 3.61; 95 % CI, 1.07–12.2), history of mood and anxiety disorders (aOR = 1.81; 95 % CI, 1.02–3.20), and prepregnancy overweight (25–29.9 kg/m2) (aOR = 2.31; 95 % CI, 1.41–3.77) and obesity (≥30 kg/m2) (aOR = 2.81; 95 % CI, 1.44–5.48) status were statistically significant risk factors for habitual snoring during pregnancy. In addition, maternal smoking during pregnancy (aOR = 2.70; 95 % CI, 1.17–6.26) was associated with habitual snoring during pregnancy.

Conclusions

Identification of risk factors for habitual snoring during pregnancy has important implications for developing strategies aimed at reducing the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing, promoting improved sleep hygiene and improved pregnancy outcomes among reproductive-age women.

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Acknowledgment

This research was supported by awards from the National Institutes of Health (R01 HD-055566 and R01 HD-32562). The authors are indebted to the staff of the Center for Perinatal Studies for their expert technical assistance.

Conflict of interest

None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Perinatal Studies, Swedish Medical Center, 1124 Columbia Street, Suite 750, Seattle, WA, 98104, USA

    Ihunnaya O. Frederick, Chunfang Qiu, Tanya K. Sorensen, Daniel A. Enquobahrie & Michelle A. Williams

  2. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Daniel A. Enquobahrie

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Michelle A. Williams

Authors
  1. Ihunnaya O. Frederick
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  2. Chunfang Qiu
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  3. Tanya K. Sorensen
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  4. Daniel A. Enquobahrie
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  5. Michelle A. Williams
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ihunnaya O. Frederick.

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Frederick, I.O., Qiu, C., Sorensen, T.K. et al. The prevalence and correlates of habitual snoring during pregnancy. Sleep Breath 17, 541–547 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-012-0717-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-012-0717-z

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