Rhinometry and open-mouth posture in young children.
A biracial sample of 348 elementary school children who were in the first grade were assessed for open-mouth posture (OMP) in the natural environment. In addition, rhinometry was performed on 296 of the children. Means were computed for percent OMP and cross-sectional nasal airway. Results indicated that, in general, these children exhibited relatively high rates of OMP. Boys displayed significantly greater OMP than girls, and black children showed significantly larger cross-sectional nasal areas than white children. A significant correlation between OMP and nasal area only was evident for children exhibiting OMP during more than 80% of the observation intervals. The implications of the findings were discussed.
Department of Psychology, University of Mississippi, University 38677.
A M
AM
Gross
G D
GD
Kellum
T
T
Morris
D
D
Franz
C
C
Michas
M L
ML
Foster
M E
ME
Walker
F W
FW
Bishop
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D044383:Black People; D002508:Cephalometry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009058:Mouth Breathing / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D015508:Nasal Obstruction / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D009666:Nose / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D044465:White People