Incidence of Perceived Sleep Apnea In Division I Football Athletes Using Anthropometric Measurements And a Modified Berlin Questionnaire

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the risk factors for sleep apnea in an athletic population. This study investigated whether football linemen had an increased incidence of perceived sleep apnea using anthropometric measurements and a Modified Berlin Questionnaire as compared to the remaining football positions. This research also investigated the possible correlations between risk factors for sleep apnea. Participants in this study were 80 football players competing on the Oklahoma State University football team during the 2007-2008 academic year. Each participant completed a Modified Berlin Questionnaire and allowed the principle investigator to obtain height (meters), weight (kilograms), neck circumference (centimeters), and body mass index (kg/m2). Independent samples t-tests and Pearson's r were used to test five null hypotheses. A value of p<0.01 was used for each hypothesis. The findings of this study revealed that the offensive and defensive linemen had statistically higher height (meters), weight (kilograms), neck circumference (centimeters), and body mass index (kg/m2) as compared to the remaining positions when using an independent samples t-test with a probability value of p<0.01 for each variable. Pearson correlation tests were used to evaluate the possible correlations between high risk sleep apnea variables. The relationship between neck circumference and weight revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.790 with a significance value of p<0.01. The relationship between neck circumference and body mass index revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.806 with a significance value of p<0.01.