SAN FRANCISCO, May 20 (UPI) — Snoring, one of the main symptoms of sleep disordered breathing, may be linked to cancer death, U.S. researchers say.

Study leader Dr. Javier Nieto of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and colleagues found the study participants with severe sleep disordered breathing were almost five times more likely to die of cancer than those not affected by the problem, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The researchers said the link may be due to breathing problems causing an inadequate supply of oxygen — intermittent hypoxia, or oxygen starvation — promoted tumor growth in mice with skin cancer.

Lack of oxygen might stimulate the generation of blood vessels that nourish tumors — a process known as angiogenesis, the researchers said.

Scientists looked at 22 years of data from studies involving sleep problems of 1,522 people sleep problems.

People with mild sleep disordered breathing were just 0.1 times more likely to die from cancer than those without the problem, but those with moderate sleep disordered breathing doubled the chances of cancer death, while severe sleep disordered breathing increased the risk 4.8 times, the study said.

The findings were presented at the American Thoracic Society conference in San Francisco and are scheduled to be published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Cryptosporidium can cause diarrhoea, fever and vomiting, with symptoms lasting two weeks or longer. Picture: Tim Hunter Source: the Daily Telegraph

TWENTY-EIGHT people carrying a serious gastro bug may have infected public pools, but SA Health has issued no public warning.

Between January and March, SA Health was notified of 28 cases of cryptosporidium where the person reported swimming at a public pool.

SA Health asked seven swimming centres across the metropolitan area to decontaminate their pools to prevent transmission of the infection.

The Advertiser was alerted to the situation when it obtained a copy of a text message sent to members of the Adelaide Aquatic Centre advising them the pool would be closed for super-chlorination.

Adelaide City Council confirmed the Aquatic Centre was aware an infected person had used the pool.

A council spokeswoman said the leisure pools within the centre were super-chlorinated on March 8 because infected people had used them.

She said the main and dive pools were to begin super-chlorination last night and were expected to reopen at 4pm today.

"the pools will be closed to protect users from high levels of chlorine and will be reopened when levels have returned to normal and the pools are safe to use," she said.

A Burnside Council spokeswoman confirmed the council also had been asked by SA Health to decontaminate its pool as a precaution and had done so.

The cryptosporidium parasite can cause diarrhoea, fever and vomiting, with symptoms lasting two weeks or longer. People with severe immune suppression, particularly those with late-stage AIDS, may experience severe, prolonged diarrhoea.

An SA Health spokesman said pool decontamination was a "routine precautionary response where cases have reported swimming in a public pool during disease investigation interviews with SA Health".

"this is within the normal levels we would expect to see – there has certainly been no spike," he said.

"if there were large numbers then we would issue a public alert.

"SA Health emphasises the importance of observing hand hygiene and people with diarrhoea not sharing baths or swimming in public pools for 14 days after their symptoms have stopped."

The parasite must be taken in through the mouth to cause infection and is spread directly, by drinking or swimming in contaminated water or eating uncooked fruits and vegetables.

It can also be spread by hand.