Women binge drinkers seek help for snoring

Forget the idea that snorers are men the wrong side of 50. Binge drinking is turning young women into chronic snorers, with increasing numbers seeking help in tackling a problem that can lead to long-term health problems and wreck relationships.

Research shows that the numbers of men and women snoring, and suffering from obstructive sleep apnoea, are increasing, and it's not just young women who are pushing up the figures.

Research shows that increasing levels of obesity, a rise in allergies and a drop in the numbers of tonsils being removed in children may all be having an impact.

And the increase in snoring has led to a rise in the number of treatments, with more than 40 now available, including sprays, tablets, injections, implants, splints, magnets and surgery.

Snoring results from the soft tissue or muscles in the air passages vibrating. During sleep, the muscles relax, narrowing the airways, and the narrower the airway, the greater the vibration.

In sleep apnoea, there is the added complication that sufferers can stop breathing for periods of several seconds, until the brain briefly rouses the snorer to get air moving again.

A range of treatments for sleep apnoea are available once the condition is diagnosed, but it is estimated that only one in five cases are picked up.

Research at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne says that it is both under-diagnosed and under-treated: "Although now acknowledged as a worldwide problem, the majority of affected individuals remain undiagnosed. It is strongly associated with obesity but is also increasingly identified in the less obese."

Snoring is now thought to affect about half the adult population. Research from Sweden shows that about 8 per cent of women are habitual or chronic snorers, and that 15 per cent of the over-50s have a problem. Over a 10-year period, the number of male habitual snorers went up from 15 per cent to more than 20 per cent.

Much of the increase is thought to be linked to the rise in the number of people who are overweight or obese.

Additional weight around the neck means than when they lie down to sleep and the muscles relax, the airways are compressed more than normal.

Yet another significant cause of snoring is alcohol, which causes the muscles to relax during sleep.

One of the most effective treatments for sleep apnoea is continuous positive airway pressure, where a machine delivers a stream of compressed air via a face mask to keep the upper airway open.

Research suggests that it is effective for about 95 per cent of patients.

Gumshield-like splints, worn in the mouth at night, can push the lower jaw forward to encourage the flow of air.

- INDEPENDENT