New research shows people who snore have an increased risk of chronic headaches, and both problems combined could be a risk factor for the nocturnal breathing disorder known as sleep apnoea.

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Women particularly affected

"We wanted to analyse the effect of sleep-disordered breathing on the risk of chronic daily headache in people who were not diagnosed with sleep apnoea," says Ann Scher, study author and an epidemiologist at the National Institute on Ageing.

What was particularly interesting to Scher was the discovery that many people who don't fit the classic sleep apnoea profile - particularly women - are struggling with snoring and headaches. As a result, doctors should pay more attention to the snoring/headache tandem as a potential warning sign for sleep apnoea, she says.

What is sleep apnoea

Sleep apnoea causes people to stop breathing momentarily while they sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during a single night. It can be triggered by a blockage in the airway or, less commonly, by a defect in the system that sends messages from the brain to the muscles involved in breathing.

Most people aren't aware they have the disorder, but they'll often complain of being very tired or fatigued, no matter how much sleep they get. Partners often report these people snore.

In addition, these people frequently suffer from chronic headaches - as did the people in her study, Scher says. She presented her findings at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.

Helping those who might be overlooked

For snoring specialist Dr Kelvin Lee, Scher's study takes a new look at a familiar area of research.

"I think the most important message in this study is that it links two problems - snoring and chronic headaches - that have independently been linked to sleep apnoea in people who you might not generally think of as having sleep apnoea," Lee says.

Putting the two together, he says, could help give doctors a heads-up on diagnosing the sleep disorder in someone who might otherwise be overlooked.

"This study, while not diagnosing sleep apnoea, does tell us that two of its most common symptoms, snoring and chronic headache, do frequently appear together. And, in that way, it opens the door for more testing of people you might otherwise not think of as having sleep apnoea," Lee says.

Curing snoring

Snoring can often be cured with a variety of treatments, ranging from medications that help to relieve stuffy nasal passages, to dental devices that help hold the jaw in a position that decreases snoring, to various types of surgeries on the back of the throat, Lee says.

When sleep apnoea is diagnosed, a host of devices are available to help maintain continuous airflow during slumber.

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