Clinical Assessment of the Correlation Between Tongue Pressure, Modified Mallampati Score, BMI, and Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to assess the connection between tongue pressure, Modified Mallampati Score (MMS), BMI, and their role in evaluating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Materials and Methods A total of 180 participants were categorized into four groups ( n = 45) based on the MMS. After securing informed consent, demographic data, including age, gender, body height, and weight (used to calculate BMI) were collected. A tongue pressure measurement system, patented as Innovative Australian Patent no. 2021106623 on 24 November 2021, was utilized. Results The one-way analysis of variance test was employed to compare variations in average BMI and tongue pressure across the groups. The post hoc Tukey test revealed significant differences at p ≤ .05. Tongue pressure significantly varied among the distinct MMS categories ( p = .001), notably with group 4 displaying significantly lower tongue pressure compared to the other three groups. Conclusion The findings suggest that both tongue pressure and MMS are interconnected factors contributing to OSA, while BMI and tongue pressure operate independently in determining OSA.