Cephalometric comparison of obstructive sleep apnea patients and healthy controls

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to compare the cephalometric characteristics of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients with those of healthy subjects and to determine possible relationships between cephalometric measurements of OSA patients and control subjects. Methods: Standardized lateral cephalograms of 16 OSA patients and 16 healthy controls were obtained. Airway dimensions and dentofacial parameters were measured using a cephalometric analysis program (Dolphin Imaging Cephalometric and Tracing Software, Chatsworth, CA, USA). All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 17.0.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Descriptive statistics were calculated for all measurements, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used to evaluate intergroup differences. Results: Midface length was significantly shorter and upper lip E-plane length was significantly longer in the OSA group than in the controls (P