Upper Airway Collapsibility and Genioglossus Activity in Adolescents during Sleep

摘要

Study Objectives:Obese patients develop obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), at least in part because of a narrowed upper airway. However, many obese adolescents do not develop OSAS, despite having a presumably narrower airway. The reasons for this phenomenon are unclear. The authors hypothesized that obese controls have a compensatory neuromuscular response to subatmospheric pressure loads during sleep, making them less likely to develop upper airway collapse.