CHILDREN that have regular chest infections are more at risk of sleep apnoea in later life, a study shows.
Kids whose parents smoke or had asthma also had a higher chance of the dangerous condition, Australian researchers found.
GettyChildren that have regular chest infections are more at risk of sleep apnoea in later life, a study shows[/caption]
Suffering pneumonia or frequent bronchitis before the age of seven boosted the risk by more than 20 per cent, they said.
Dr Chamara Senaratna, of Melbourne University, said: “We found new associations of maternal asthma, parental smoking and frequent lower respiratory tract infections before the age of 7 years with adult obstructive sleep apnoea.
“These may be useful to flag the risk of obstructive sleep apnoea within clinical practice and create awareness and vigilance among at-risk groups.”
Around 10million Brits suffer with obstructive sleep apnoea, according to the Sleep Apnoea Trust.
The condition causes your breathing to start and stop while sleeping, as well as gasping, snorting, choking, loud snoring and poor sleep quality.
During the day it can make you feel very tired, with headaches, mood swings and difficulties in concentration also common.
Sleep apnoea can lead to a host of deadly complications, including high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and depression, according to the NHS.
The study, published in Respirology, looked at how factors in early life can increase your risk of it in adulthood.
Researchers surveyed parents of 3,550 children aged seven to see what their risk factors were.
The children were tracked to the age of 53, when they were asked questions to see if they had or were likely to have obstructive sleep apnoea.
Children whose mothers smoked had a 50 per cent greater risk of OSA, results showed.
Having pneumonia in childhood increased the risk by 30 per cent, while having a mum who smoked increased the risk by 20 per cent.