Correlations of cephalometric parameters of the upper respiratory tract in Ukrainian young men and young women with a wide face type
Authors: Kostiuchenko-Faifor O. S. 
Published: July 2023

Annotation. Changes in the size of the upper respiratory tract can lead to the emergence or aggravation, complications of already existing pathologies. In this regard, there is a need to study their sizes both in normal and pathological conditions. Cephalometric analysis is one of the important tools that allows you to assess the location of the structures of the upper respiratory tract and their parameters. The purpose of the study is to establish the peculiarities of correlations between cephalometric parameters of the upper respiratory tract in Ukrainian young men and young women with an orthognathic bite with a wide face type. On primary lateral radiographs of Ukrainian young men (aged 17 to 21 years) and young women (aged 16 to 20 years) with a wide facial type, orthognathic bite and absence of upper respiratory tract pathology, using the licensed medical software OnyxCeph³™, version 3DPro (company Image Instruments GmbH, Germany) and the diagnostic program “UniqCeph” carried out a cephalometric analysis of the upper respiratory tract, soft palate, hyoid bone and tongue. Correlations were evaluated using the Statistica 6.0 license package using Spearman's non-parametric statistics. In young men and young women with a wide face type, multiple, mostly straight, medium-strength reliable (r= from 0.42 to 0.56) and strong (r= from 0.62 to 0.82) correlations were established between most of the cephalometric characteristics of the upper respiratory tract itself, and only in young women – multiple straight correlations of average strength reliable (r=0.44 and r=0.53) relationships between most of the cephalometric characteristics of the hyoid bone. In addition, in young men with a wide face type, multiple straight correlations of mostly medium strength, reliable (r= from 0.47 to 0.52) and unreliable (r= from 0.30 to 0.41) relationships of the AH-CV, AH-MP or VT distances and most of the cephalometric characteristics of the upper respiratory tract itself, mainly the inverse of the average strength of reliable (r=-0.44 in both cases) and unreliable (r=-0.32 and r=-0.38) correlations of the value of most of the cephalometric characteristics of the soft palate (with the exception of the PM-U distance) and the tongue, as well as mostly straight correlations of medium strength unreliable (r= from 0.34 to 0.38) relationships between the values of most of the cephalometric characteristics of the hyoid bone (with the exception of the AH-CV distance) and the tongue; and in young women, there are direct, reliable, medium-strength (r=0.45 and r=0.53) and strong (r=0.63 in both cases) relationships between the value of the AH-CV distance and almost all cephalometric characteristics of the upper respiratory tract itself, as well as mainly direct unreliable average strength (r= from 0.37 to 0.38) correlations between the size of the PM-U or AH-FH distance and most of the characteristics of the tongue. Thus, the most pronounced manifestations of sexual dimorphism correlations are established between the cephalometric characteristics of the upper respiratory tract itself and the hyoid bone or tongue, as well as between the cephalometric characteristics of the soft palate and the tongue.