A Study on the Effects of Mucous Membrane of the Sinus by Severity of Sleep Breathing Disorder

Abstract

Background and Objectives Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an obstructive airflow disorder that occurs in the upper respiratory tract during sleep and is therefore associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. By examining the Lund-Mackay (L-M) scores and maxillary sinus mucosal conditions according to the severity of sleep breathing disorder (SBD), we tried to find out the association between SBD and sinus mucosal change.Subjects and Method Of the 189 patients who underwent sinus CT with a polysomnography test, 175 patients were enrolled in our study. We investigated the average L-M score and L-M score of five or higher, and the ratio of maxillary sinus mucosal thickness (MSMT) of 2 mm or higher.Results The average L-M score of study population was 0.98 points and the L-M score of five or more was found in 14 patients (8%). The MSMT of 2 mm or more was found in 25.5% of the study group. The average L-M scores for the different groups, namely, the simple snoring group, the mild OSA, the moderate OSA, and the severe OSA were 1.31 points, 0.77 points, 0.91 points, and 1.08 points, respectively. There was no significant difference (<i>p</i>=0.736) among them, and there was no correlation between the apnea-hypopnea index score and the L-M score (r=-0.052, <i>p</i>=0.499). There was no significant difference between OSA severity and MSMT (<i>p</i>=0.490).Conclusion There was no significant difference between the L-M score and MSMT depending on the severity of SBD. Therefore, it is believed that SBD will have little effect on the sinus mucosa.