Snoring children are at risk of behavioral problems

Toddlers who snore loudly may be at risk for behavior problems, a new study has found. The study, published in Pediatrics, says that heavy snoring affects 9 percent of children 2 to 3 years of age. 

"Kids are going to snore sometimes, especially when they have a cold," Dean W. Beebe, of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told Reuters. "It's when the snoring persists that it gets concerning."

More from GlobalPost: When the BRICs crumble

To conduct the study, researchers looked at 249 mother/child pairs at 2 and 3 years of age, ABC news reported. The researchers found that kids who persistently snored were more likely to suffer from hyperactivity, depression and inattention by age 3. Overall, 35 percent of the snorers were found to be at risk. 

The researchers aren't sure why snoring would be linked to problems, and they said more research is needed to answer that question. But possible reasons could be that snoring causes poor sleep. Heavy snoring has also been linked to tonsil problems and exposure to cigarette smoke. While the study could not prove that snoring actually causes specific problems or offer solutions on how to treat it, Beebe warned parents to keep an eye out for heavy snoring, because it is "not normal, " Reuters reported. 

The study says that children who are breastfed are at lower risk of becoming snorers.