Original Article
Longitudinal changes in craniofacial factors among snoring and nonsnoring Bolton-Brush study participants,☆☆,*,**

https://doi.org/10.1067/mod.2003.85Get rights and content

Abstract

The extent to which craniofacial risk factors are manifested from childhood in habitual snorers and those with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in craniofacial factors between snorers and nonsnorers from childhood to adulthood. The sample consisted of 80 Bolton-Brush subjects (men, 52%; white, 100%) recalled at adult ages (53-78 years) who had existing prepubertal (age, 4-5 years) and pubertal (age, 12-13 years) records. Snoring was assessed at the adult age through subjective and spousal reports. Cephalometric radiographs were used to characterize 13 craniofacial hard and soft tissue measurements. The t tests revealed that there was a trend (P <.10) for longer hyoid-to-mandibular plane distance at prepubertal and pubertal ages and significant (P <.05) differences at adult recall for snorers. Posterior airway space was significantly smaller for snorers at adult recall. The longitudinal analysis did show a significant change in 9 craniofacial variables over time, but this change was not different between snorers and nonsnorers. We concluded that snorers exhibit a lowered hyoid position from childhood and that longitudinal changes must be explored further with a larger sample. (Am J Orthod Dentofacial orthop 2003;123:338-44)

Section snippets

Methods

Subjects were selected from the Bolton-Brush study participants who were examined with cephalometric radiographs at periodic intervals during childhood and adolescence. The specifics of the population have been described previously.12, 13 All subjects who were recalled during their adult years in 1992 and 1993 were included in the present study. The selection criteria were as follows: (1) all subjects had assessments of snoring at adult ages and (2) all subjects had cephalometric radiographs

Results

The sample consisted of 80 Bolton-Brush study participants who were recalled during their adult years (mean age, 64.9 ± 5.1 years). The 80 adult subjects were 52% male and 100% white. Of the 80 recalled subjects, only 45 had existing prepubertal (mean age, 4.5 ± 0.4 years; 56% male) records available; 76 had pubertal (mean age, 12.3 ± 0.4 years; 53% male) records available. Thus, the sample sizes for cross-sectional analysis were 45, 76, and 80 patients for prepubertal, pubertal, and adult time

Discussion

The present study is the first to investigate the changes in craniofacial factors in snorers and nonsnorers from childhood to adulthood; it was made feasible by the availability of the necessary records. An important finding was that H-MP distance was different between snorers and nonsnorers—a trend during childhood and adolescence but significant at the time of adult recall. The lack of significance during childhood and adolescence might have been caused by the small sample sizes, but the

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Bolton-Brush Growth Study Center for making available the necessary records for this study and Dr Xingzhong Zhang for assisting with data collection.

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  • Cited by (0)

    bAssistant Professor, Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.

    ☆☆

    cStudent researcher, School of Dentistry, Case Western Reserve University.

    *

    Reprint requests to: Suchitra Nelson, PhD, Department of Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106-4905; e-mail, [email protected].

    **

    0889-5406/2003/$30.00 + 0

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