Peculiarities of correlations of upper respiratory tract cephalometric parameters in Ukrainian young men and young women regardless of face type
Authors: Kostiuchenko-Faifor O. S. , Gunas I. V. , Glushak A. A. , Babych L. V. , Skoruk R. V. 
Published: March 2023

The study of the parameters of the upper respiratory tract has become one of the leading directions of medical research, due to the connection of this structure with the occurrence and course of many diseases of both childhood and adulthood. The study of normative indicators of this structure and its relationship with craniometric indicators should be the first step before further research of samples with pathologies. The purpose of the study is to establish correlations of cephalometric parameters of the upper respiratory tract in Ukrainian young men and young women with an orthognathic bite, regardless of the type of face. Primary lateral radiographs of 49 Ukrainian young men (aged 17 to 21 years) and 76 Ukrainian young women (aged 16 to 20 years) with an orthognathic bite and the absence of upper respiratory tract pathology taken from the database of the research center and the Department of Pediatric Dentistry age of National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnytsia, with the help of the licensed medical software OnyxCeph3™, version 3DPro (Image Instruments GmbH, Germany) and the diagnostic program “UniqCeph”, a cephalometric analysis of the upper respiratory tract was performed. In the “Statistica 6.0” license package, correlations between cephalometric indicators of the upper respiratory tract were assessed using non-parametric Spearman statistics. In Ukrainian young men, multiple, mostly direct, medium-strength (r= from 0.32 to 0.48) and strong (r= from 0.65 to 0.83) correlations were established between most of the characteristics of the upper respiratory tract or tongue; in young women, there are also predominantly direct, medium-strength (r= from 0.33 to 0.57) and strong (r= from 0.62 to 0.85) correlations between most of the characteristics of the upper respiratory tract or tongue, as well as medium-strength inverse (r= -0.30 and -0.40) and direct (r= 0.45 and 0.85) correlations between most characteristics of the soft palate. In addition, in Ukrainian young men, multiple inverse correlations of mainly medium strength (r= from -0.33 to -0.49) were established between the value of the PASmin distance and the UAA section with the value of the SPT distance and the SPA section, and between the value of the NL/PM-U angle and most of the characteristics the tongue, as well as multiple direct, mostly medium strength (r= from 0.30 to 0.55), connections between the characteristics of the upper respiratory tract itself and the hyoid bone or tongue and between the characteristics of the hyoid bone and the tongue; in young women, there are mainly straight lines of medium strength (r= from 0.33 to 0.55) between the value of the AH-CV distance and most of the characteristics of the upper respiratory tract itself, between the value of the AH-FH distance and all characteristics of the tongue, and between the value of the PM-U distance and by the distance VT and the section TA. Thus, the most pronounced manifestations of sexual dimorphism of connections are established between the characteristics of the soft palate, between the characteristics of the upper respiratory tract itself and the soft palate or tongue, as well as between the characteristics of the soft palate and the hyoid bone.