title: The influence of craniofacial morphology on the upper airway dimensions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the influence of craniofacial morphology on the upper airway dimensions in healthy adult subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  The records of 276 healthy 17- to 27-year-old patients were extracted from the cone-beam computed tomography image database of the Institute of Stomatology, Riga Stradins University. Dolphin 11.7 software was used to evaluate craniofacial anatomy and semiautomatic segmentation of the upper airway. Measurements of oropharyngeal airway volume (OPV), minimal cross-sectional area (CSAmin), and nasopharyngeal airway volume (NPV) were obtained. The presence of adenoid tissues was recorded. Associations between variables were analyzed by Spearman's correlation coefficients, and multivariate linear regression analysis was used to identify factors that had a possible influence on upper airway dimensions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following factors were identified as influencing the variability of NPV (23%): SNA angle, gender, and presence of adenoids. Statistically significant, although weak, correlations were found between SNB angle and OPV (r  =  0.144, P < .05) and CSAmin (r  =  0.182, P < .01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that craniofacial morphology alone does not have a significant influence on upper airway dimensions.
authors.affiliation: a   PhD student, Department of Orthodontics, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia.
authors.forename: Iveta
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Indriksone
authors.affiliation: b   Associate Professor and Head of the Department, Department of Orthodontics, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia.
authors.forename: Gundega
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jakobsone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000379:methods*; D054893:Cone-Beam Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Airway; Cone-beam computed tomography