European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

INFLUENCE OF NECK CIRCUMFERENCE & BMI ON ETIOLOGY OF OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA

Dr. Sandeep Kaur*, Dr. Kirandeep Kaur, Dr. Shalu Rai, Dr. Abhishek Sinha and Dr. Krishna Arora 

ABSTRACT

Background: A narrow upper airway is associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), currently neck size and obesity is considered to be one of the most important physical characteristic of patients with sleep apnea. Combining neck circumference and body mass may allow the clinical diagnosis or exclusion of sleep apnoea to be made with reasonable confidence. This study examines these issues. AIM: The aim of the study is to correlate upper airway and soft tissue measurements with Neck circumference (NC) & BMI (Body Mass Index) using lateral cephalogram to evaluate etiology of obstructive sleep apnoea. Material and method- Lateral Cephalogram of 45 subjects were used to measure the pharyngeal airway. The patients were divided into three groups based on the Neck Circumference (NC): Group A: - NC less than equal to 30cm; Group B: - NC 31 to 34 cm; Group C: - NC greater than equal to 35 cm.The population was stratified by Body Mass Index (BMI): Group I: < 23 i.e Lean, Group II: 23 –35 i.e Normal, Group III: > 25 i.e Obese. Student’s t-test for paired samples was used to compare the mean values of study variable vital parameters. Result- The soft palate and tongue size increased with increasing BMI and NC and the results were statistically significant(p≤0.05). There was reduction IAS and oropharyngeal airway with increasing NC(p>0.05) and reduction in SPAS(p≤0.10), MAS(p≤0.80) and IAS(p≤0.2) with increasing BMI. Conclusion - The correlation of NC with increase in soft tissue size (soft palate and tongue) suggested that obesity mediates its effects in OSA through fat deposition in the neck.

Keywords: Lateral Cephalogram, NC, BMI, OSA.