PITTSBURGH, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Loud snoring and insomnia may predict the development of metabolic syndrome, a U.S. researcher says.
Wendy Troxel of the University of Pittsburgh says screening patients for common sleep complaints at routine medical visits could help identify patients with the metabolic syndrome.
The metabolic syndrome identifies patients a higher risk for heart disease, diabetes or stroke. These patients score high on three out five risk factors: abdominal fat, blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol and high triglycerides.
Troxel led a three-year study that found the risk of developing metabolic syndrome was more than two times higher in adults who reported frequent loud snoring and increased by 80 percent in adults with difficulty falling asleep.
Statistical analysis found both loud snoring and difficulty falling asleep were significant independent predictors of the metabolic syndrome.
"It was rather striking that the effects of difficulty falling asleep and loud snoring were largely independent of one another," Troxel said in a statement.
Troxel and colleagues looked at 812 participants in an ongoing, community-based, prospective study of adults ages 45-74. Those with metabolic syndrome or diabetes at baseline were excluded. During the study, 14 percent of participants developed the metabolic syndrome.
The findings are published in the journal Sleep.
