Friedman Tongue Position and the Anthropometric Parameters in Adult Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea: An Observational Study

Valeria Luzzi, Federica Altieri (), Mariana Guaragna, Valentina Pirro, Beatrice Marasca, Luisa Cotticelli, Marta Mazur, Gabriele Di Carlo, Paola Di Giacomo, Carlo Di Paolo, Marco Brunori, Gaetano Ierardo, Gabriele Piperno, Giuseppe Magliulo, Annalisa Pace, Giannicola Iannella, Paolo Palange, Agnese Martini, Emma Pietrafesa and Antonella Polimeni
Additional contact information
Valeria Luzzi: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Federica Altieri: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Mariana Guaragna: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Valentina Pirro: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Beatrice Marasca: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Luisa Cotticelli: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Marta Mazur: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Gabriele Di Carlo: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Paola Di Giacomo: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Carlo Di Paolo: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Marco Brunori: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Gaetano Ierardo: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Gabriele Piperno: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Giuseppe Magliulo: Department of Sensory Organs, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Annalisa Pace: Department of Sensory Organs, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Giannicola Iannella: Department of Sensory Organs, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Paolo Palange: Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00100 Rome, Italy
Agnese Martini: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), 00143 Rome, Italy
Emma Pietrafesa: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), 00143 Rome, Italy
Antonella Polimeni: Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-11

Abstract: Introduction: Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) is a relevant public health problem; dentists can play an important role in screening patients with sleep disorders by using validated tools and referring patients to a specialist, thereby promoting an interdisciplinary approach. The aim of the study is to identify if the OSAS severity, measured by the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI), and some anthropometric measurements are associated with the Friedman Tongue Position (FTP) within a population with dysmetabolic comorbidities. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire containing information about clinical data including height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), neck circumference, waist circumference, hip circumference and FTP was administered. The AHI value was measured by means of an unattended home polysomnography device. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated, and Kruskal–Wallis, Kolmogorov–Smirnov (both nonparametric) and independence tests were performed to probe the possible relationships. The significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: A total of 357 subjects were analyzed. The association between the FTP and AHI was not statistically significant. On the contrary, the AHI showed a positive correlation with BMI and neck circumference. A statistically significant association between the number of subjects with a larger neck and an increasing FTP class was found. BMI, neck, hip and waist circumference was associated with the FTP scale. Conclusions: although the FTP was not directly associated with OSAS severity, there was also evidence that an FTP increase is associated with an increase in the considered anthropometric parameters, and FTP can be a clinical tool used in the assessment of risk for OSAS risk factors.

Keywords: Friedman Tongue Position; Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome; sleep disorder; comorbidities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/3255/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/3255/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:4:p:3255-:d:1066580

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().