. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 Jan 1.

Published in final edited form as: Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2023 Mar 30;13(7):1061–1482. doi: 10.1002/alr.23079

TABLE VI.D.5.

Evidence for the association between Mallampati classification, Friedman tongue position, and OSA

Study	Year	LOE	Study design	Study groups	Clinical endpoint	Conclusion
Friedman et al.⁵⁴⁷	2013	3a	Systematic review	Adults with OSA	Systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between Mallampati and Friedman tongue position for OSA severity	Friedman tongue position and Mallampati classification were significantly associated with obstructive sleep apnea severity
Bins et al.⁵⁴⁹	2011	3a	Systematic review	Adults with OSA	Systematic review to evaluate the diagnostic value of the Mallampati score in patients suspected of OSAS	No evidence for diagnostic value of Mallampati score in patients suspected of having obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
Ruangsri et al.⁵⁵¹	2016	3b	Case–control study	Group 1: OSA (n = 78); Group 2: no-OSA (n = 78)	Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with OSA	Mallampati class IV was found to be significantly associated with OSA (adjusted odds ratio 5.040 (1.655, 15.358))
Amra et al.⁵⁵⁰	2019	3b	Cross sectional study	Adults with OSA	Evaluated anthropometric data and the Mallampati classification for predicting the severity of OSA	Mallampati classification was found to be associated with AHI indices, but not among women patients
Friedman et al.⁵⁴⁷	2013	3a	Systematic review	Adults with OSA	Systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between Mallampati and Friedman tongue position for OSA severity	Friedman tongue position and Mallampati classification were significantly associated with obstructive sleep apnea severity
Banhiran et al.⁵⁵⁵	2014	3b	Cross sectional study	Group1 no OSA (n = 66); Group 2: OSA (AHI > 15/h) (n = 217)	Identify physical findings that may predict the presence of moderate to severe OSA in snoring patients	No significant difference was found in FTP between moderate to severe OSA and control patients (AHI < 5/h)
Lin et al.⁵⁵²	2019	4	Retrospective cohort	Adult habitual snorers and adults with OSA	Identify standard clinical parameters that may predict AHI and OSA severity	FTP was found to bea reliable predictor of OSA (r = 0.504, 95% CI: 0.417–0.580)
Subramanian et al.⁵⁵³	2011	4	Prospective cohort	Adult patients being screened for OSA	Develop a novel screening tool for the detection of OSA, combining self-reported historical factors with physical exam findings	FTP was found to bea reliable predictor of OSA (r = 0.14, p = 0.0019)