The effect of pharyngeal soft tissue components on snoring

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of oropharyngeal air column area, parapharyngeal fat pad thickness, pterygoid muscle thickness, and parapharyngeal wall thickness on snoring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-six individuals (35 men, 21 women) complaining of snoring in a questionnaire administered to patients attending the MR unit for cervical MR imaging were enrolled as the study group, and 39 (23 men, 16 women) individuals with no complaint of snoring were enrolled as the control group. Firstly, patients' body mass index (BMI) was determined. Then turbo spin echo T2-weighted MR imaging in the axial plane was performed, from the nasopharynx to the hyoid bone level, in both groups. From the MR images, oropharyngeal air column area, parapharyngeal fat pad thickness, pterygoid muscle thickness and parapharyngeal wall thickness measurements were made. Finally, the results were statistically analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) for Windows 10.0. Student's t-test was used as a complementary method in the analysis of the study data. The correlations between BMI and parapharyngeal wall thickness, and BMI and oropharyngeal air column area were determined by Pearson's correlation analysis. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was found between study and control groups in terms of mean age, pterygoid muscle thickness, or pharyngeal fat pad thickness (P>.05). Snorers' BMI levels (P<.01) and average parapharyngeal wall thicknesses (P<.05) were statistically significantly higher than those of the control subjects. Snorers' oropharyngeal air column area was significantly narrower than that of the control subjects, statistically (P<.01). CONCLUSION: As a result of the study, it was concluded that only oropharyngeal air column area and parapharyngeal muscle thickness had an effect on snoring.