ArticleSleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung2023
The effect of surgical weight loss on upper airway fat in obstructive sleep apnoea.
Article in Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Weight reduction and the impact on apnea-hypopnea index: A systematic meta-analysis.Sleep medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Parapharyngeal Fat Pads as an Obesity-Related Parameter for Apnea-Hypopnea Index Severity.Journal of sleep research · 2026Article
- Obstructive sleep apnea, GLP-1 receptor agonist pharmacotherapy, and the oral microbiome: competing biological influences and implications for oral health monitoring.Clinical oral investigations · 2026Review
- Review
- Article
- Anti-Obesity Pharmacotherapy and Emerging Multimodal Interventions for Obstructive Sleep Apnea.Chronic diseases and translational medicine · 2026Review
- Long-term effects of sleeve gastrectomy on metabolic parameters and obstructive sleep apnea resolution: a prospective observational study.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2026Observational
- Incretin-Based Therapies in Obesity-Related Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Narrative Review of Evidence Tiers and Mechanistic Plausibility.Nature and science of sleep · 2026Review
- Status and influencing factors of weight loss behavior among college students: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Assessing the application potential of different species as obstructive sleep apnea models: a comparative analysis based on cranial CT anatomy.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Article
- Anatomical Remodeling of the Upper Airway after Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: A Multimodal Assessment of Structural and Functional Improvements in Obstructive Sleep Apnea.Obesity surgery · 2025Article
- Impact of tongue fat volume on obstructive sleep apnea in non-obese patients.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Bariatric Surgery and GLP-1/GIP Medications for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea: A Comprehensive Review.Current obesity reports · 2025Review
- Additive Effect of Multilevel Radiofrequency Ablation in Elderly Patients with Sleep Apnea.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2025Article
- Association between obstructive sleep apnea and visceral adiposity index and lipid accumulation product: NHANES 2015-2018.Lipids in health and disease · 2024Article
- Upper airway imaging and function in obstructive sleep apnea in people with and without HIV.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeObesity is a reversible risk factor for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Weight loss can potentially improve OSA by reducing fat around and within tissues surrounding the upper airway, but imaging studies are limited. Our aim was to study the effects of large amounts of weight loss on the upper airway and volume and fat content of multiple surrounding soft tissues.
methodsParticipants undergoing bariatric surgery were recruited. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at baseline and six-months after surgery. Volumetric analysis of the airway space, tongue, pharyngeal lateral walls, and soft palate were performed as well as calculation of intra-tissue fat content from Dixon imaging sequences.
resultsAmong 18 participants (89% women), the group experienced 27.4 ± 4.7% reduction in body weight. Velopharyngeal airway volume increased (large effect; Cohen's d [95% CI], 0.8 [0.1, 1.4]) and tongue (large effect; Cohen's d [95% CI], - 1.4 [- 2.1, - 0.7]) and pharyngeal lateral wall (Cohen's d [95% CI], - 0.7 [- 1.2, - 0.1]) volumes decreased. Intra-tissue fat decreased following weight loss in the tongue, tongue base, lateral walls, and soft palate. There was a greater effect of weight loss on intra-tissue fat than parapharyngeal fat pad volume (medium effect; Cohen's d [95% CI], - 0.5 [- 1.2, 0.1], p = 0.083).
conclusionThe study showed an increase in velopharyngeal volume, reduction in tongue volume, and reduced intra-tissue fat in multiple upper airway soft tissues following weight loss in OSA. Further studies are needed to assess the effect of these anatomical changes on upper airway function and its relationship to OSA improvement.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.