Tongue strength evaluation in children with and without sleep disordered breathing

Abstract

Introduction: The tongue play an important role in the quality of breathing during sleep. Aims and objectives: The aim of our study was to evaluate tongue strength in children with and without sleep disordered breathing (SDB) with Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI). Methods: Polysomnographic recordings were performed at baseline to assess obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity in children with SDB. Assessment of tongue strength and tongue peak pressure, using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI), and clinical examination were performed and a sleep clinical record (SCR) obtained for all the SDB patients. Age and sex-matched control healthy Caucasian children were randomly recruited from a school in the same urban area of the study group. The control group underwent IOPI measurements and SCR. Results: 54 children (mean age 7.1 ± 2.5 years, 29 male) with SDB and 38 control healthy children (mean age 7.8 ±2.2, years, 25 male) were recruited. According to the PSG records, 14 children suffered from primary snoring (PS, AHI 0.35 ± 0.3 ev/h) and 40 from mild-moderate OSA (AHI 2.2 ± 2.0 ev/h). There were significantly differences in tongue strength (51.3±13.6 vs 32.1±10.2, Kpa, p Conclusions: Children with SDB showed a lower tongue strength and peak pressure, as measured by the IOPI, than healthy children. The lower tongue strength observed in children with SDB are likely to be due to the persistence of oral breathing during sleep, which affects tongue position and strength as well as the orofacial muscles, and ultimately leads to abnormal craniofacial and airway development.