Gender differences in symptoms related to XXXX in a general population and in relation to referral to sleep clinic.

@entity1 @entity387 @entity27 @entity25 @entity386
STUDY OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence, risk factors, and gender differences in symptoms related to @entity27 . A secondary objective was to study gender differences in relation to referral to a sleep clinic for sleep investigations. DESIGN AND SETTING: A questionnaire study in a representative sample of the general population. A second cohort included @entity1 referred for @entity387 investigation between 1991 and 2000 in the same geographic region. @entity1 : A representative sample of 5,424 subjects aged 20 to 69 years living in northern Sweden. Responses were obtained from 4,648 subjects (85.7%). RESULTS: Of the male respondents, 17.9% stated that snoring was a problem or said that they had relatives who were concerned about witnessed @entity387 , and of the female respondents, 7.4%. The prevalence of snoring and witnessed @entity386 increased with age. In @entity1 , there was a peak prevalence rate at 55 to 59 years of age, while the corresponding figure in @entity1 the peak prevalence rate was at 60 to 64 years of age. Having snoring as a problem and relatives who were concerned about witnessed @entity387 were independently associated with male gender, age, and current smoking. Snoring as a problem also was associated with higher education. @entity1 who snored reported significantly more @entity25 than did @entity1 who snored. The estimated number of subjects aged 20 to 69 years who had snoring as a problem or had relatives who were concerned about witnessed @entity387 in the population was 21,160. During the previous decade, 3,955 subjects had been referred to sleep laboratories, so < 20% of the estimated number of symptomatic subjects in the population had been referred during this 10-year period. The referral rate ratio for @entity1 / @entity1 after correction for population and prevalence of symptoms was 1.25:1 (p = 0.012). CONCLUSION: Experiencing snoring as a problem or having relatives who are concerned about witnessed @entity387 are common findings in the population. However, during the last decade, only about 20% of the subjects with snoring as a problem or with relatives who are concerned about witnessed @entity387 were referred to sleep laboratories. @entity1 were significantly underrepresented in sleep laboratory referrals, even though @entity1 who snored experienced more subjective @entity25 than @entity1 .
