Why do women snore more often as they get older?

Reviewer of this article: Chen Haixu, Deputy Director and Master Supervisor of the Second Medical Center of PLA General Hospital

Middle-aged women with lower estrogen and progesterone levels are more likely to snore, have irregular breathing, and gasp during sleep, which are symptoms of sleep apnea.

The involvement of these chemicals means that targeted hormone therapy could be useful for women after menopause, says Kai Triebner of the University of Bergen in Norway, who led the study, published June 22 in the journal PLOS ONE.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

"Women live longer on average than men, but in later life, women have a relatively lower quality of life, which is intrinsically linked to their low estrogen levels."

"Snoring and sleep-related breathing problems increased," Triebner said.

Researchers have long suspected that sleep apnea is linked to menopause, the period when hormone levels drop and menopause ends.

Some small studies have pointed to specific roles for estrogen and progesterone, but Triebner and colleagues wanted to test these theories on a larger scale.

They interviewed 774 women aged 40 to 67 about their respiratory health and lifestyle.

They were mostly white and lived in seven European countries. The team also conducted clinical examinations and collected blood samples.

The participants, some of whom had not yet reached menopause, completed questionnaires about their sleep habits and health.

Nearly half of women reported having "disturbing snoring," Triebner said.

Additionally, 14 percent had irregular breathing and 13 percent gasped during sleep.

Blood analysis showed that the participants' estrogen and progesterone levels varied widely, with some women having levels of just a few units per liter and others as high as tens of thousands of units.

These changes are clearly linked to sleep apnea.

As levels of estrone, a type of estrogen, increased, women were 19 percent less likely to snore.

As progesterone levels doubled, women were 9% less likely to snore.

Among women who snored, the odds of irregular breathing dropped by 20 percent as estrogen levels doubled.

And as progesterone levels doubled, the likelihood of waking up feeling suffocated decreased by 12 percent.

All findings were adjusted for women's menopause, age, body mass index, smoking habits and educational background (some of which can affect hormone levels).

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

The findings suggest a link between menopause and sleep apnea.

The link makes sense, Triebner said, considering that some types of estrogen are involved in the formation of respiratory muscles, while progesterone helps stimulate breathing.

Sleep apnea is a potentially serious condition that has been linked to heart disease and stroke, Triebner said. Snoring can also cause problems in relationships.

"I believe that personalized hormone therapy after menopause has great potential to improve women's quality of life and is likely to significantly improve sleep-disordered breathing," he said.

Source: China Science Daily

Related paper information:

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269569

The watermarked images in this article are from the copyright gallery, and the image content is not authorized for reprinting