Do wind and brass players snore less? A cross-sectional study of snoring and daytime fatigue in professional orchestral musicians.

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether playing a wind or brass musical instrument is associated with reduced snoring or daytime fatigue.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, controlled, anonymous, questionnaire-based observational study.

SETTING

Rehearsal and performance halls.

PARTICIPANTS

Three hundred and forty musicians from Scotland's five professional orchestras.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Snore Outcomes Survey questionnaire and the Epworth Sleepiness Score.

STATISTICAL METHOD

Hierarchical linear regression analysis.

RESULTS

No significant difference was found between the snoring severity (Snore Outcomes Survey score) or daytime sleepiness (Epworth score) of wind/brass and other professional musicians. A regression model with snoring severity (Snore Outcomes Survey score) as the dependent variable and the three covariates of gender, age and body mass index as independent variables was significant [F(3, 206) = 28.77, P < 0.01, adjusted r(2) = 0.285]. Increasing age, body mass index and male gender were all significantly associated with lower Snore Outcomes Survey scores (i.e. worse snoring).The addition of instrument type did not significantly increase the fit of the model, and the regression coefficient for instrument type was not significant. There were similar results when the Epworth Sleepiness Score was used as the dependent variable.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated no significant difference between the snoring severity or daytime sleepiness of brass/wind players and other professional orchestral musicians. This result may have been attributed to comparatively low levels of snoring/daytime sleepiness in the population studied. The findings contrast with previous studies examining the effects of singing and didgeridoo playing but concur with a recent similar study of orchestral musicians. A prospective interventional study would be required to determine whether playing a wind or brass instrument improves these variables in patients complaining of disruptive snoring.