11 Jun 2009
Pregnant women who snore are at greater risk of gestational diabetes, it has been revealed.
Research conducted at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine shows that women who have a habit of snoring have more to worry about than keeping their partner awake at night.
In the first study of its kind, 189 healthy women were assessed to see if there is a link between snoring and gestational diabetes.
While women who did not snore during pregnancy were found to have a 3.3 per cent chance of developing the disease, the risk of gestational diabetes for frequent snorers was found to be as high as 14.3 per cent.
Explaining one of the possible causes of the elevated risk, principal investigator Dr Francesca Facco, a fellow at Northwestern's Feinberg School, said snoring may be indicative of poor air flow.
"This may activate your sympathetic nervous system, so your blood pressure rises at night," she commented.
"This can also provoke inflammatory and metabolic changes, increasing the risk of diabetes or poor sugar tolerance."
According to the BBC, four in ten men and three in ten women are thought to be affected by snoring.
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