Comparative evaluation of craniofacial anthropometric measurements in Indian adult patients with and without obstructive sleep apnea: A pilot study

AIMS: The study aimed to compare the craniofacial features of North Indian patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to that of normal North Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Selected 25 North Indian subjects (age: 18–65 years) were divided into two groups (OSA group [n = 14] and non-OSA group [n = 9]) according to the results of full night polysomnographic sleep study. Body mass index (BMI), neck circumference (NC), and lateral cephalograms were recorded for each subject in both groups and total 22 parameters of craniofacial anthropometric features were measured on lateral cephalograms for each subject. The differences in BMI, NC, and craniofacial features between the OSA and non-OSA groups were compared statistically. RESULTS: Independent sample t-test was used to compare the differences between OSA group and non-OSA group. The results showed that the BMI, NC, bulk of tongue (tongue length, tongue height, and tongue area) and length of the soft palate (PNS-U) were significantly higher in OSA group. OSA group was also found to have inferior positioning of hyoid bone (MP-H, ANS-H, PNS-H, ANS-Eb), narrower superior and middle airway space (SPAS and MAS), antero-inferior positioning of mandible (Gn-C3, ANS-Me, SNB, N-Me) and lower cranial base flexure angle (N-S-Ba). CONCLUSION: Craniofacial features, which play an important role in the pathophysiology of OSA, differ significantly between North Indian patients suffering from OSA and normal North Indian population.