Does socially disturbing snoring and/or excessive daytime sleepiness warrant polysomnography?

The relationship between sleep-related breathing disorders and the major complaints of patients referred for diagnostic polysomnography to the University Hospital, Antwerp, were studied. Six hundred and forty-two patients (502 men, 140 women, aged 49.8 +/- 11.9) completed a standardized questionnaire and underwent single-night complete polysomnography. Among 581 patients complaining of habitual snoring and/or excessive daytime sleepiness, 252 had non-apnoeic snoring and 170 had sleep apnoea syndrome. In 144 patients with the isolated complaint of snoring, 18% had sleep apnoea syndrome. This percentage increased significantly to 35% when snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness were both present. The odds ratio for sleep apnoea syndrome in patients with snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness was 2.15 (95% CI, 1.48-3.12). The complaints of snoring and/or excessive daytime sleepiness are highly likely to be associated with sleep-related breathing disorders and warrant further diagnostic work-up, including polysomnographic evaluation.