Upper airway dimensions in adolescents with different craniofacial growth patterns: a retrospective cross-sectional comparison of independent samples from 2005 and 2020.

Lehan Xu, Xiao Lu, Sijie Wang, Fu Zheng, Xiaoyan Chen

Abstract readComparative Study

In one paragraph

Article in BMC oral health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

5 authors.

Lehan Xu *Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.

Xiao Lu *Case Western Reserve University Dental School, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio, 44106, USA.

Sijie WangStomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.

Fu ZhengStomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China. zhengfu@zju.edu.cn.

Xiaoyan ChenStomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China. ortho_chenxy@zju.edu.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China No.82271008

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCraniofacial growth patterns and upper airway dimensions have been reported to be associated, but evidence regarding differences in airway morphology across growth patterns between different time periods remains limited. This study compared two independent adolescent samples collected in 2005 and 2020 to determine whether differences in upper airway morphology varied across craniofacial growth patterns.

methodsIn this retrospective cross-sectional cephalometric study, 360 pre-orthodontic lateral cephalograms (180 from 2005; 180 from 2020) of Han Chinese adolescents (aged 10–15 years) from Hangzhou were analyzed. Cephalometric landmarks were used to identify growth patterns (vertical/horizontal/average) and to measure sagittal airway widths (nasopharyngeal: PNS-UPW, PNS-AD2; oropharyngeal: U-MPW; glossopharyngeal: TB-TPPW; laryngopharyngeal: V-LPW) and adenoid-nasopharyngeal ratios (A/N). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) adjusted for age, sex, and sagittal skeletal pattern was used to evaluate the effects of year, growth pattern, and their interaction. Adjusted mean differences with 95% confidence intervals were reported.

resultsSignificant year × growth pattern interactions were observed for nasopharyngeal and lower airway dimensions (p<0.05), indicating that differences between the two samples collected in 2005 and 2020 varied across craniofacial growth patterns. In the vertical growth pattern group, the 2020 sample exhibited significantly smaller nasopharyngeal widths (PNS-UPW: −3.10 mm; PNS-AD2: −2.75 mm) and reduced laryngopharyngeal width (V-LPW: −0.82 mm) compared with 2005. In the horizontal growth pattern group, narrower lower airway dimensions were observed in 2020 (TB-TPPW: −1.44 mm; V-LPW: −1.50 mm), while nasopharyngeal dimensions showed no significant differences. No significant differences were detected in the average growth pattern group. The A/N ratio was significantly higher in 2020 in the vertical (Δ = 0.067, p < 0.001) and horizontal (Δ = 0.044, p = 0.022) groups, but not in the average group (p = 0.266).

conclusionsDifferences in upper airway dimensions varied according to craniofacial growth patterns when comparing two independent adolescent samples. Adolescents with vertical growth patterns showed narrower nasopharyngeal and laryngopharyngeal dimensions in 2020, while those with horizontal patterns demonstrated reduced lower airway dimensions. These findings underscore the importance of considering craniofacial morphology in airway assessment.

Indexed as

Maxillofacial DevelopmentNasopharynxOropharynxPharynxAdenoidsAdolescentCephalometryChildChinaCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleRetrospective StudiesAdenoidAdolescentCephalometric analysisCraniofacial growth and developmentUpper airway width

Identifiers

PMID41826971

DOI10.1186/s12903-026-08055-6

PMCPMC13047835

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

Read underepoch 390

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.