Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40960120›Full record

SynthesisThe Laryngoscope2026

Is Ankyloglossia Correlated With Pediatric Sleep Disordered Breathing? A Systematic Review.

Nainika Venugopal, Josh Neposlan, Andrew Bysice, Sami Khoury, Edward Madou, Raymond Lee, Julie E Strychowsky, Aaron St-Laurent, Claire M Lawlor, M Elise Graham

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The Laryngoscope, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Nainika VenugopalSchulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Josh NeposlanUniversity of Toronto Division of Emergency Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Andrew BysiceUniversity of Alberta Division of Otolaryngology, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Sami KhouryDepartment of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Edward MadouDepartment of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Raymond LeeDepartment of Dentistry, Children's Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.
Julie E StrychowskyDepartment of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-5460-3155
Aaron St-LaurentDepartment of Pediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Claire M LawlorBoston Children's Hospital Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Enhancement, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0636-6233
M Elise GrahamDivision of Otolaryngology, Dalhousie University and IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-7159-2953

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesSleep disordered breathing (SDB) affects 2%-11% of children, predisposing them to neurobehavioral and developmental consequences. Ankyloglossia has been proposed as a risk factor for SDB, and frenotomy as a treatment for SDB in children with ankyloglossia. With increasing ankyloglossia diagnoses, it is critical to evaluate the evidence for a linkage between SDB and ankyloglossia. DATA SOURCES: EMBASE, Web of Science, Medline, CINAHL, CCRCT, and SCOPUS were searched from inception to February 13, 2025. Publications assessing the relationship between ankyloglossia and SDB in non-syndromic children ages 0 to 18 years were included. Eight studies involving 1171 patients met inclusion criteria. REVIEW

methodsTwo reviewers independently screened abstracts and full texts for inclusion. Strength of clinical data was graded according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment and modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

resultsThere is mixed evidence of a relationship between ankyloglossia and pediatric SDB. The lack of standardized diagnostic criteria for ankyloglossia and the use of surveys instead of validated clinical assessment tools to assess SDB limit the generalizability of findings. There is also insufficient data to conclude that frenotomy is indicated in managing SDB in children with ankyloglossia. While two interventional studies report a positive association, their results have limited validity and generalizability.

conclusionThere is an unclear relationship between ankyloglossia and pediatric SDB and insufficient evidence to determine if frenotomy is indicated as a treatment for SDB in children with ankyloglossia. Higher quality studies with standardized functional measures of ankyloglossia and validated assessment of SDB are needed. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: N/A.

Indexed as

AnkyloglossiaSleep Apnea SyndromesAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolHumansInfantInfant, NewbornRisk Factorsankyloglossiafrenotomypediatricsleep disordered breathing

Identifiers

PMID40960120
PMCPMC12913740

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.