Snoring can lead to bronchitis

People who snore are more likely to develop chronic bronchitis, the hacking cough most often associated with cigarette smoking or breathing polluted air, Korean researchers reported on Monday.

Why snoring might lead to bronchitis is not clear, said a team led by Inkyung Baik of Korea University Ansan Hospital in South Korea.

The report, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, covered 4,270 men and women between 2001 and 2006. Of the group, 314 came down with chronic bronchitis.

"We collected information on snoring at baseline and identified incident cases of chronic bronchitis during a four-year follow-up period," Baik's team wrote.

After taking into account whether those in the study smoked or were otherwise at risk for bronchitis, the investigators concluded that people who snored five nights a week or less were 25 percent more likely to develop bronchitis than those who never snored.

The risk was 68 percent higher for those who snored six to seven times a week.

"Our findings provide support for the hypothesis that snoring is associated with chronic bronchitis," the researchers wrote.

It could be that snoring vibrates the upper airways, stressing them and leading to inflammation, the researchers said.

Rates of diabetes among U.S. elderly rose

More elderly Americans are contracting diabetes and the majority develop complications such as heart disease that might be prevented if they properly monitored their health, a researcher said on Monday.

The study of Medicare beneficiaries found 2.7 percent of a group of 1.5 million enrollees in the government-funded insurance program for the elderly were diagnosed with diabetes in 2003, compared to 2.2 percent diagnosed in 1994.

Overall, one-quarter of those 65 or older had type-2 diabetes in 2003, up from 15 percent in 1994, the report said. The 1.5 million people studied represented a group of 5 percent of Medicare enrollees whose health is being tracked by the program.

"The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing, in part because of population aging, but also in younger persons," Frank Sloan of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Making matters worse, nine out of 10 of those diagnosed with diabetes in 1994 and 1999 developed some other ailment within six years of diagnosis, against seven out of 10 of elderly without diabetes who were studied for comparison purposes.

Diabetes damages blood circulation and is known to increase the risks of heart disease, blindness and skin ulcers, among other ailments.

"What we're concerned about is the rate of complications," Sloan said in a telephone interview.

"Our overall conclusion is they're not getting any better" over time, he said, citing increasing cases of kidney function deterioration and lower extremity problems, which can result in foot amputations.

"It shouldn't be happening if you're monitoring your blood pressure, your cholesterol, keeping your blood glucose in line, getting your eyes checked, getting your feet checked, so the complications can be caught and monitored," he said.

Rates of congestive heart failure, heart attack and stroke remained fairly stable at about three out of 10 people diagnosed with diabetes in 1994, 1999, and 2003.

Roughly one-third of diabetics diagnosed in 1994 and 1999 died within six years, compared to one-fourth of non-diabetics. For those surviving with the disease, the accumulation of other ailments places heavy burdens on the health care system, the report said.

"The message is how can we encourage people to adhere to recommended care and reduce these complications," Sloan said. "It's not an issue of uninsured people. (The elderly) frequently go to the doctor but we're not making inroads in terms of postponing these complications the way we should be."