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.