266 A QUESTIONNAIRE TO EXAMINE CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE AND THE HIGH RISK FOR SLEEP APNEA IN BERLIN

Abstract

cally significant difference between the genders was the fasting glucose levels, which were higher in the males (p=0.047). Both neck circumference and BMI were not significantly different, either between the genders or between the OSAS and non-OSAS groups. Polysomnography identified several factors that were significantly different between the OSAS and non-OSAS groups: apnea index (p<0.01), minimum oxihemoglobin saturation (p<0.01) and arousal index (p<0.01). None of the findings upon polysomnography, however, were statistically different between the genders. The only UA anatomical alteration that showed a statistically significant difference between the OSAS and non-OSAS groups was palatine tonsil hypertrophy of degrees III and IV (p<0.01). In addition, the UA modified mallampati index of classes III and IV displayed a tendency towards a difference between the OSAS and non-OSAS groups (p=0.05). Conclusions: OSAS occurred more often in the obese children in this study, which was in agreement with other studies that have shown an association between obesity and OSAS. No association, however, was established with the degree of obesity. Allergic rhinitis, as diagnosed by the RAST laboratory assay, was not correlated with the presence of OSAS. Palatine tonsil hypertrophy was the only anatomical UA alteration that was correlated with the presence of OSAS, demonstrating that, even in a group of obese children, this particular anatomical feature occurs frequently in individuals with OSAS.