Upper airway resistance during growth: A longitudinal study of children from 8 to 17 years of age

Abstract

Objective: To study upper airway breathing in 115 children annually from 8 to 17 years of age with the hypothesis that upper airway respiratory needs increase steadily during growth and show sexual dimorphism. Material and Methods: To calculate nasal resistance, airflow rate (mL/s) and oronasal pressures (cmH 2 O) were measured during rest breathing in a seated position using the pressure-flow technique.Results: Median values of oronasal pressure ranged at different ages in girls from 0.88 to 1.13 and in boys from 0.92 to 1.44 cmH 2 O, being 0.95 and 0.93 cmH 2 O at the age of 17 years, respectively. The gender differences were statistically significant in four age groups (P , .05 by the Mann-Whitney test). Mean values of nasal resistance decreased from 8 to 17 years of age in girls from 4.0 (63.27) to 2.4 (62.30) and in boys from 3.3 (62.48) to 1.5 (60.81) cmH 2 O/L/s. However, there was an increase in resistance in 11-year-old girls and 12-year-old boys and at the age of 15 in both genders (P , .05 by paired t-test). Conclusions: Respiratory efforts stabilize oronasal pressure to maintain vital functions at optimal level. Nasal resistance decreased with age but increased temporarily at the prepubertal and pubertal phases, in accordance with other growth and possibly hormonal changes. When measuring upper airway function for clinical purposes, especially in patients with sleep apnea, asthma, allergies, cleft palate, or maxillary expansion, the measurements need to be compared with age-and genderspecific values obtained from healthy children. (Angle Orthod. 2016;86:610-616.)

Guideline Values for Minimum Nasal Cross-Sectional Area in Children

“…This study indicates that guidelines for nasal airway size in children should consider gender as the nasal airways of males were larger at almost all ages and consistently larger from 14 years on than in females although the only statistically significant difference occurred at age 16. Other variables related to patency such as oral–nasal differential pressures and resistance differed considerably between males and females in this group (Laine-Alava et al, 2016). Timing for age-related inconsistencies in nasal patency, that is, decrease instead of increase, differed between genders.…”

Validation of a Novel User Interface and Calculation Method For Determining Nasal Resistance And Patency

“…Key details included studies for normative measurement values and treatment indications listed in Appendix A. Three studies [24][25][26] discussed the analysis of peak flow inspiratory flow limitations and parameters, 3 evaluated pediatric and adult acoustic sound measurements with rhinometry [14][15][16], and 14 evaluated rhinomanometry and mean resistance parameters as a diagnostic tool for various treatment options to improve nasal breathing, nasal function, sleep, and overall quality of life [9- 14,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]27,28 ]. Figure 1 shows a majority of the articles reviewed were published between 2016 and 2022 after the validation of 4-phase rhinomanometry and its increased recognition as a standard of care for measuring nasal function in 2015 [29][30] .…”

Complex Approach to Diagnosis of Nasal Cavity and Nasopharyngeal Pathologies in Children. Initial Results

“…По данным нашего исследования выявлено, что у мальчиков носовое сопротивление выше, но достоверно не отличалось (p > 0,05) от такового у девочек как до, так и после анемизации слизистой полости носа раствором деконгестантов. Полученные результаты подтверждают данные литературы [15].…”