Daytime sleepiness, snoring and gastro‐oesophageal reflux amongst young adults in three European countries

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Abstract
Objectives. To study the geographical variation in daytime sleepiness, snoring and disrupted breathing during sleep and to identify and compare risk factors using the same method in four European cities. Design. A cross‐sectional, multicentre epidemiological survey. Setting. Reykjavik in Iceland, Uppsala and Göteborg in Sweden and Antwerp in Belgium. Participants. A random population sample of 2202 subjects who participated in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. Main outcome measures. Sleep disturbances and daytime symptoms. Results. At all the centres, 5% of the men and 2–3% of the women reported snoring every night. Daytime sleepiness (DS) was more often reported in Uppsala [odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval: 1.6 (1.2–2.1)] than in the other centres, whilst daytime tiredness (DT) was most common in Reykjavik [OR 1.8 (1.4–2.1)]. Snoring was positively correlated with age, male gender and body‐mass index in all areas. Symptoms of gastro‐oesophageal reflux were associated with DS: OR 2.6 (1.5–4.4) and DT: OR 4.5 (2.7–7.6) and disrupted breathing: OR 3.8 (1.4–10). DS and DT were reported more often by women than by men. Conclusion. The prevalence of snoring was about the same in all four areas, whilst there was a geographical variation in daytime sleepiness and tiredness. As complaints of DS and DT and disrupted breathing were more common in subjects who reported symptoms of gastro‐oesophageal reflux, we suggest that polysomnographic studies comparing sleep patterns in adult patients with and without reflux should be conducted.