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Apparently there is more to that nasty nighttime occurrence of snoring than previously thought.  In fact there are a number of things that happen early in life that can lead to snoring later in life.  Respiratory infections are one factor, but you may not have known that the family dog is another.  Apparently sharing a bed, snuggling on the couch, or romping and rolling in the yard with your dog can lead to snoring later in life.

Karl Franklin, M.D., Ph..D; author and physcician at University Hospital in Umea, Sweden has released his findings that include identifying the environment at an early age can affect whether a person snores later in life.

 Franklin and his team of researchers asked women and men between the ages of 25-54, as well as the residents of Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Estonia, and received responses from 15,556 people.   These participants were asked about their childhood and whether or not they had a dog or other pets, if they had ever been hospitalized for a respiratory infection prior to the age of 2, and whether or not they experienced reoccurring ear infections.  They were also asked about the size of their family, their parents backgrounds, and how old their mothers were.

The findings revealed that 4 criteria were associated with snoring later on.

•  If they had been hospitalized due to a respiratory infection before age 2, their risk for snoring was 1.27 times higher.
• If they had frequent ear infections in childhood, their risk increased 1.18 times.
• If they were in a family with more than 5 members their risk increased 1.04 times
• If they were exposed to a dog in the household as a newborn the risk increased

Dr. Franklin stated that why the exposures increased the risk of snoring is not yet known. “Perhaps these things like dogs, infections, might increase the size of the tonsils” and that may boost the risk of snoring later in life.

Before you decide to ban the family dog, Dr. Franklin has stated that more research must be done to gather conclusive evidence.

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