Prevalence and correlates of snoring in medical and nursing students in University Malaysia Sarawak

ABSTRACT

Using a questionnaire, a snoring study was done in 400 medical and 78 nursing students of University Malaysia Sarawak in 2004 and 2005. The response rates were 72.5% for medical students and 83.3% for nursing students. The habitual snoring percentages for all years, first year and final year medical students were 7.2, 9.9 and 3.6 respectively; and for all years, first year and third year nursing students were 12.3, 13.3 and 8.3. These figures were lower than those found in Hong Kong and Germany, despite similar body mass index (BMI). In the combined group of student, positive correlation with snoring was found in male gender (p=0.011), BMI (p=0.002) and sleep apnoea (p=0.05). For medical students, positive correlation was found in male gender (p<0.0005), weight (p <0.001), height (p <0.001) and sleep apnoea (p<0.001), and for nursing students in BMI (p=0.008) and weight (p=0.033). No significant correlation was found in snoring with Epworth Sleepiness Scale and academic performance.