Snoring “frequently or always” is common among school-age children, new findings show.

Moreover, habitual snoring is strongly associated with emotional and behavioral problems and poor performance in school. However, these problems often cease when the child stops snoring, investigators report in the medical journal Pediatrics.

In a study of 1129 children, 114 were classified as habitual snorers, while 410 were reported to snore “never,” and 605 “occasionally.”

According to Dr. Michael S. Urschitz from University Children’s Hospital in Tuebingen, Germany and colleagues, habitual snorers were twice as likely to exhibit hyperactive behavior as non-snorers, 7-times likelier to be excessively tired during the day, and nearly 10-times likelier to have problems with their peers.

Habitual snoring also appeared to have an adverse effect on academic performance. Fifty-nine (52 percent) of 114 habitual snorers performed poorly at school compared with 129 (32 percent) of the 410 non-snoring children.

In a 1-year follow up study of a subset of the children, the team noted a “significant improvement” in behavior - but not academic performance - among snoring children who had spontaneously stopped snoring.

“Considering its high prevalence and assuming a causal link to disturbed behavior, habitual snoring seems to be a substantial public health problem in school-aged children,” Urschitz and colleagues conclude.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, October 2004.