Snoring runs in the family

Snoring appears to run in families, according to new research which shows that children whose parents snore have a three-fold increased risk of being noisy sleepers themselves.

The findings also indicate a link between snoring and allergy. Children who tested positive for allergies were twice as likely to snore.

Scientists in the US looked at 681 infants with an average age of 12 months, and found that children with at least one parent who snored were three times more likely to snore than those without snoring parents.

Snoring is no joke, it can have serious implications. Studies of older children and adults have linked snoring to behavioural problems, mental impairment, and heart and metabolic disease.

Maninder Kalra, from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre in Ohio, who led the research, said: "Snoring is the primary symptom of sleep-disordered breathing, which in children is associated with learning disabilities and metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. Early detection and treatment can potentially reduce the incidence of morbidity due to sleep-disordered breathing in children."

An increased risk of snoring occurred in 21.5 per cent of children who were sensitive to allergy triggers compared with 13 per cent of those who were not prone to allergies.

The findings appeared in the journal Chest, published by the American College of Chest Physicians.