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The prevalence of habitual snoring and its associations with respiratory symptoms, personal and familial risk factors, ear, nose, and throat (ENT) abnormalities, and its influence on ventilatory function were studied in a sample of 190 children aged 5 to 6 years from nine kindergartens in Nancy (northeastern France). Nineteen (10%; 95% CI 5.7-14.3%) of the children were habitual snorers; the prevalence was the same in boys and girls. In univariate analysis habitual snoring was significantly associated with a personal history of exercise-induced bronchospasm [relative risk (RR) 4.50]; a history of adenotonsillectomy (RR, 2.56); a personal history of allergy (RR, 2.83); a sibling history of atopy (RR, 2.39); and doctor-assessed tonsillar hypertrophy (RR, 2.51). These factors were entered into a logistic regression model that retained as independent determinants exercise-induced asthma, personal history of allergy, sibling history of allergy, and tonsillar hypertrophy. The height-adjusted peak expiratory flow rate was slightly, non-significantly lower in habitual snorers as compared to non-snorers (2.01 +/- 0.32 vs 2.10 +/- 0.38 L/s/m2). Due to the limited numbers in the sample, the increased risk for paternal (RR, 1.8) and maternal (RR, 1.6) smoking at home remained nonsignificant.

Ventilatory function--forced vital capacity (VC)--forced expiratory volume (in 1-sec forced expiratory flows) static lung volumes, closing volume, and phase III slope (single-breath N2 test) were compared in 94 children with and 436 children without a history of recent mild acute respiratory infection. Their age ranged from 10 to 16 years; subjects with symptoms on the day of the study were excluded. We found no difference in lung function between the two groups, with the exception of a slight (inconsistently significant) increase in closing volume (CV) and the CV/VC ratio. Although the influence of a persistent increase in interstitial lung pressure leading to early small airways closure cannot be ruled out, this isolated functional abnormality probably represents a spurious positive result, arising by chance when a large number of statistical tests are done.