Study Links Childhood Pets To Snoring

A Swedish sleep study claims growing up with a pet dog could increase your chances of being a snorer later in life.

Doctors have known for some time that heavy snoring has been linked to early death, heart disease and stroke.

This latest research from the University Hospital Umea found being exposed to a dog as a newborn boosted the risk of snoring by 26%.

Allergic swelling could alter the shape of a person’s airways for life, the study suggests.

The group found that just under one in five of the 15,556 people from Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Estonia reported "habitual snoring", described as loud and disturbing on at least three nights a week.

The same questionnaire asked them to recall other facts about their home lives, and various factors seemed to increase the risk of snoring later in life.

Such questions included being hospitalized for a respiratory infection before the age of two, having recurrent ear infections as a child, and growing up in a large family.

So far there is no concrete evidence of a mechanism that might explain these findings. But lead researcher Dr, Karl Franklin, from University Hospital Umea, suggested that they could all "enhance inflammatory processes" and "alter upper airway anatomy early in life".

These permanent changes would then increase the chances of excessive snoring.

The problem extended beyond the prospect of sleep deprivation for the snorer and their partner, Franklin said.

He said people who snore run an increased risk of early death and cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks or strokes.

“The study provided interesting clues as to why respiratory problems early in life could lead to potentially serious conditions years later,” said Dr. Keith Prowse, the chairman of the British Lung Foundation.

"Snoring is more than just a nuisance and can be a sign of a respiratory condition called sleep apnea which affects more than 110,000 people in the UK and is caused by the narrowing of the throat during sleep.

"We would welcome further research in this area to establish why exposure to these risk factors causes some children to become snorers in later life."