title: Assessment of the uvulo-glossopharyngeal dimensions in patients with β-thalassemia major.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Thalassemia patients present varying degrees of craniofacial characteristics, while the morphology of the upper airway is less studied. The purpose of this study was to compare the uvula-glossopharyngeal dimensions (UGDs) of patients with β-thalassemia major (BTM) with non-thalassemic subjects who had similarities in the maxillo-mandibular skeletal pattern.
  
  
  METHODS
  The material for this cross-sectional retrospective study consisted of lateral cephalograms of 40 BTM patients (23 males, 17 females, aged 9.5 ± 0.97 years). These were compared with lateral cephalograms of a control group of 40 non-thalassemic subjects (23 males, 17 females, aged 11.0 ± 0.87 years). The control group was chosen so that they had similarities with the BTM patients in the following cephalometric variables: SNA (in degree), SNB (in degree), ANB (in degree), and anterior facial height (N-Me).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following UGDs in thalassemic subjects were significantly shorter in patients with BTM: tongue length (P < 0.05), the distance between the hyoid bone and the mandibular plane (P < 0.01), and the vertical distance between hyoid bone and the C3-RGN line (line connecting third vertebra and retrognathion) (P < 0.05). The middle airway space in BTM patients was significantly wider (P < 0.05), and a trend was observed for the wider inferior airway space (P = 0.07).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on this study, some UGDs in BTM patients were significantly different, compared to non-thalassemic subjects who had a similar maxillo-mandibular skeletal pattern. These findings may have implications for the long-term treatment of BTM patients; however, since groups were not exactly age-matched, the observed differences between groups could be attributed to either BTM, age, or both. Additional studies with age-matched subjects are needed to investigate the relationship between BTM and UGDs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Dental Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fariborz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Amini
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borzabadi-Farahani
authors.forename: Gilda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Behnam-Roudsari
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jafari
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shahidinejad
mesh_terms: D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D000403:Airway Resistance / Q000502:physiology*; D002508:Cephalometry; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D010614:Pharynx / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D014059:Tongue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014609:Uvula / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*