The epidemiology of sleep apnoea.

We conducted a study of the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in subjects derived from a random sample of the population. A total of 2,202 subjects 35 to 69yr of age were approached. Four hundred forty-one answered a questionnaire concerning their sleep symptoms, general health, and habits such as alcohol consumption, and they were monitored for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). The sample was biased in favor of snorers and those with other subjective sleep complaints. Fifty-six percent of the subjects were men. Of the 441 subjects 79 (17.9%) had SDB (more than 15 episodes of apnea or hypopnea per hour: respiratory distress index RDI > 15), 289 were snorers but had RDI <15, and 73 were nonsnorers. The prevalence of SDB in this sample was therefore at least 3.6% (79 of Z,204). The minimum prevalence in men was 5.7%, and in women it was 1.2%. Logistic regression identified only male sex as an independent predictor of snoring without SDB (adjusted odds ratio OR, 3-24; 95% Cl, 1-33 to 7.82), body mass index (adjusted OR for an increase of 5 kg/iM2, 0-95; 95% Cl, 0 85 to 1.05), and alcohol consumption (adjusted OR for an increase of 10 g/day, 1 05; 95% Cl, 0*84 to 1.37) were not significant predictors of snoring. The independent predictors of SDB among snorers were age (adjusted OR for an increase of 5yr, 1 26; 95% Cl, 1 08 to 1.47) and neck circumference (adjusted OR for an increase of 2 cm, 1-53; 95% Cl, 1 16 to 2.00). Alcohol consumption was not a factor (adjusted OR for an increase of lOgIday, 0 98; 95% Cl, 086 to 1.12).