Predicting Obstructive Sleep Apnea with Periodic Snoring Sound Recorded at Home.

Study Objectives: The cost-effectiveness of diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) could be improved by using a preliminary screening method among subjects with no suspicion of other sleep disorders. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of periodic snoring sound recorded at home.

Methods: We included 211 subjects, aged 18-83 (130 men), who were referred to our laboratory for suspicion of OSA, and had a technically successful overnight polygraphy, measured with the Nox T3 Sleep Monitor (Nox Medical, Iceland) with a built-in microphone. We analyzed the percentage of periodic snoring during the home sleep apnea study.

Results: Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ranged from 0.1 to 116 events/h and the percentage of periodic snoring from 1% to 97%. We found a strong positive correlation (r = 0.727, p < 0.001) between periodic snoring and AHI. The correlation was slightly stronger among female, younger, and obese subjects. The best threshold value of the periodic snoring for predicting an AHI > 15 events/h with as high sensitivity as possible was found to be 15%. There, sensitivity was 93.3%, specificity 35.1%, and negative predictive value 75.0%.

Conclusions: According to our results, it is possible to set a periodic snoring threshold (15% or more) for the subject to advance to further sleep studies. Together with medical history and prior to more expensive studies, measuring periodic snoring at home is a simple and useful method for predicting the probability of OSA, in particular among women who are often unaware of their apnea-related snoring.