Linear Cephalometric Analysis of Pharynx at the Level of Epiglottis among Snorers and Nonsnorers: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Snoring, which falls within the spectrum of sleep-related breathing disorders, is considered to be one of the common symptoms of airway obstruction. Lateral cephalometric analysis is an effective way of diagnosing airway obstruction by evaluating skeletal and soft tissue abnormalities in patients with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). The present study was planned to analyze the pharyngeal space among snorers and nonsnorers in the retroglossal region and in the region of hypopharynx at the level of epiglottis.  The present cross-sectional study included a total of 60 individuals who were grouped into snorers and nonsnorers based on their answers for the study questionnaire related to snoring. Digital lateral cephalograms were taken for all maintaining the exposure parameters while Digora software was used for measurements related to the soft tissue parameters. The two significant soft tissue parameters analyzed were the distance of epiglottis from the tip of the soft palate, the retroglossal length, and the distance of posterior pharynx from the tip of the epiglottis, the pharyngeal space.  The statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, United States) while paired -test was used for intergroup analysis. A -value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.  The mean retroglossal length was found to be 25.52 mm among the snorers and 23.70 mm among the nonsnorers. In case of pharyngeal space, a mean of 8.54 mm was recorded among the snorers whereas among the nonsnorers, the respective mean value of 10.16 mm was observed.  In the present study, pharyngeal space was found to be less at the level of the tip of epiglottis among the snorers compared with nonsnorers which can be attributed to be one of the significant reasons behind snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.