Otolaryngology: Open Access

Abstracto

Knowledge, Attitude and Perception towards Snoring among Respondents in Ekiti State, South West Nigeria

Gabriel Toye Olajide, Adebayo Makinde Adeniyi, Anthony Oyebanji Olajuyin, Waheed Atilade Adegbiji and Mathew Segun Agboola

Background: Snoring is a clinical condition that causes some serious social and health problems among populace. Objective: This study was to determine the prevalence, knowledge, attitude and perception of respondents in Ekiti, South western Nigeria toward snoring. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among adult population in three local government areas of Ekiti State, South-West Nigeria. A multistage random sampling technique was adopted to select 241 respondents for this study. A simple random sampling by balloting was used to select one Local Government Area (LGA) each from the three senatorial districts. This study was carried out inform of an outreach programme over a period of 4 months from January to April, 2019. A pre-tested interviewer semi-structured open ended questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data on socio-demographic variables, knowledge, attitude and perception of the respondents on snoring. Data generated were descriptively analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20.0 and the results were presented in tables, charts and adjusted odd ratio. Results: A total of 241 respondents were analyzed, made up of 88 (36.5%) males with a male to female ratio of 1:1.7. The mean age was 38.6 years (SD ± 10.3). The age group 30-39 years has the highest response which constitutes 38.6%. Majority (91.3%) were Christian and 172 (71.4%) were married. The estimated prevalence of snoring among couples was 30.7%. Only about 109 (45.2%) of the respondents were adjudged to have positive attitude. Factors such as occupation, education, knowledge and attitude were found to be significantly related to the perception of respondents about snoring at 0.05 levels. Conclusion: The prevalence of snoring in this study was 30.7%. Despite good knowledge and perception of snoring among the respondents, less than half of them has positive attitude towards snoring. It is important to identify the causes of snoring and treat them immediately to avoid complications.