A size analysis in obstructive sleep apnea patients

Abstract

The sybmental region in patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is perceived to be larger than normal. Therefore, neck thickness has become a variable routinely measured during clinical screening of OSA subjects. In general, OSA patients are believed to have a large tongue and a narrow airway. To test if OSA patients have a larger face and tongue than non-alneics, eighty pairs of upright and supine cephalograms were obtained from four groups of subjects subclassified in accirdance with severity. The sum of distances between pairs of landmarks was calculated for each subjects and employed as a pure size variable for the face and tongue. Only tongue size become larger in accordance with apnea severity in both body positions (P<.01). Tongue size reflects apnea seveity, yet it provides only a small fraction of the explanation with regard to apnea severity. We conclude that size may be one factor of many which are significantly related to OSA seberity.