Primary snoring and clinical implications: End the harmless entity paradigm

Abstract

The primary snoring is a respiratory disorder of the sleep characterized by the absence of apnea, desaturation and arousals. It affects more than 50% of the adult population, exposing a partial obstruction of the upper airway. Until recently, it was considered by the medical world as a benign manifestation without significant pathological background, however, we now know that it is a disease entity in itself and determines important deleterious impact at neurocognitive, metabolic and cardiovascular levels. Although polysomnography still remains being the gold standard in its study, new lines such as acoustic analysis of snoring have an increasing relevance. In the near future, the study of the etiological, histopathological and biochemical mechanisms that determine the clinical implications of snoring, will provide new tools that will contribute to the development of a new conception of obstructive sleeping disorders.