Introduction

Snoring is the major symptom of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) which is of immense public health importance. It is associated with some morbidities and mortality in the elderly. Few studies have addressed this problem in the elderly Nigerians.

Methods

Cross-sectional study of 843 elderly patients at the Geriatric Centre, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Data were collected on the following candidate variables which may be associated with snoring such as socio-demographic characteristics, morbidities, lifestyle habits and functional disability using Katz index. Anthropometric measurements such as body mass index and neck, waist and hip circumferences were taken. Statistical analysis was done with SPSS 17.

Results

The point prevalence of reported snoring was 31.2%. Habitual snoring was reported by 24.8%. Snoring was significantly associated with obesity, moderate to severe oropharyngeal crowding, wide neck and waist circumferences in both sexes. Logistic regression analysis showed wide neck circumference (OR = 6.005; 95%CI= 2.150-16.770) among the males and obesity (OR = 2.028; 95%CI= 1.344-3.061) and moderate to severe oropharyngeal crowding (OR = 1.639; 95%CI= 1.057-2.543) in the females to be the most significant factors associated with snoring.

Conclusion

The high prevalence of snoring among elderly patients in Nigeria calls for concerted effort by healthcare workers to educate the elderly.