To determine whether primary snoring could be distinguished from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) by clinical evaluation and symptom scores.

56 snoring and 20 asymptomatic subjects were recruited and polysomnography was used to confirm that there were 39 OSAS, 17 primary snoring, and 20 control subjects. We evaluated the size of the childrens adenoids and tonsils. Parents completed sleep disordered breathing scale (SDBS) and obstructive sleep apnea 18 (OSA-18) questionnaires for use as symptom scores, as well as an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder rating scale-IV (ADHD RS-IV).

There were no differences between primary snoring and OSAS in terms of tonsil and adenoid size, SDBS (9.4±4.6 vs 10.8±4.5), and OSA-18 score (61.1±25.1 vs 71.2±8.4). The patients with OSAS (15.8±7.9) and PS (22.2±9.4) had a higher ADHD RS-IV score than the control subjects (2.9±3.3). There was no difference in the ADHD RS-IV scores of patients with primary snoring and OSAS.

We confirmed that clinical evaluation could not distinguish OSAS and primary snoring. In addition, our study suggests that primary snoring as well as OSAS is associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.