Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in obese, non-obese and control children

Aim or Purpose: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in children is a highly prevalent disorder. Adenotonsillectomy is considered the first line of treatment. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of adenotonsillectomy on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), on the cephalometric values and on arch width measurements in obese and non-obese children with OSAS, and to compare the arch width measurements with a control group. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental prospective study was performed. Children aged between 2 and 12 years were recruited. The sample was divided into three groups: 1. Obese children with OSAS (n=15), 2. Non-obese children with OSAS (n=117), 3. Matched control group (n=106). A child was considered obese when the body mass index was higher than 95th percentile. All subjects underwent anthropometric measurements and alginate impressions. A polysomnography and teleradiography were taken only in both experimental groups. These records were also taken after one year. Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon test were used to compare the quantitative variables. Results: Regarding the arch width variables, there were statistically significant differences (p-value <0.05) between both OSAS group and control group. However, there were no statistically significant differences between the cephalometric and arch width variables between obesity and non-obesity group. After adenotonsillectomy AHI improved in non-obese OSAS group (p-value <0.001), but no statistical differences in AHI were found in the obese OSAS group. Conclusions: The dentofacial characteristics were similar in both obese and non-obese OSAS children. However, adenotonsillectomy improved the AHI in non-obese children more than in obese children.