Childhood primary snoring may induce poor endothelial function, high ambulatory BP

Primary snoring (PS) during childhood leads to poorer endothelial function, greater carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), and higher ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) at 5-year follow-up regardless of change in obstructive sleep apnoea severity, a study has found.

Fifty-five case–control pairs were enrolled and followed up for 5.1±1.3 years. Participants with PS at baseline had significantly lower FMD (–0.34 percent, –0.59 to –0.10), greater cIMT (0.01 mm, 0.001–0.013), higher wake systolic blood pressure (SBP; 2.6 mm Hg, 0.02–5.1), sleep SBP (3.0 mm Hg, 0.3–5.6), sleep diastolic blood pressure (2.2 mm Hg, 0.04–4.4), and sleep mean arterial pressure (2.2 mm Hg, 0.1–4.2) at follow-up than matched controls in the fully adjusted model for variables, including change in OAHI and parental history of cardiovascular diseases.

This prospective matched cohort study sought to determine if childhood PS correlated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes at 5 years of follow-up. The investigators recruited participants (aged 6–18 years at baseline) from a hospital-based cohort established from years 2006 to 2012.

Each PS participant was matched according to age, gender, and body mass index z-score with a control who had normal sleep study (obstructive apnoea–hypopnoea index [OAHI] <1/h) and without habitual snoring (<3 nights/week) at baseline. The investigators then measured flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and cIMT and assessed sleep quality of participants at baseline and follow-up visits. They also recorded 24-h ABP at follow-up.