Morphological predictors of sleep apnoea severity

Background: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) does not always depend on obesity but on a certain morphological configuration. The study objective was to verify a hypothesis about a relation between anthropometric features and OSA occurrence and severity. Materials and methods: The study involved 138 patients, who had reported in Department and Clinic of Otolaryngology, Warsaw Medical University, due to suspected OSA. Each patient underwent morphological evaluation according to visual analogue scales. The assessment involved nasal septum morphology evaluation according to a 4-grade scale, palate morphology evaluation according to the 4-grade Friedman scale, whereas the facial profile, oropharyngeal isthmus, and the shape of the nasopharynx were assessed according to our own 3-grade scale. Results: Statistical analysis confirmed the high concordance of the basic polysomnographic parameters with the Friedman scale and the shape of the oropharyngeal isthmus. Conclusions: 1. The modified Mallampati score as well as evaluation of the shape of the oropharyngeal isthmus demonstrated high concordance with the basic polysomnographic parameters. 2. The neck circumference is a significant predictor of the apnoea-hypopnoea index value in males suffering from the OSA syndrome.