Laryngeal and Infralaryngeal Morphometry of Children and Adolescents Using Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Objective: Perform laryngeal and infralaryngeal morphometry in children and adolescents using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images to generate predictive models of morphological measurements as a function of age and gender. Method: This study employed a retrospective and observational approach. The structural MRI images were selected from a database derived from research conducted with children and adolescents diagnosed with Class III malocclusion. Hence, morphometric assessments were only from the laryngeal and infralaryngeal regions. A selection of 60 MRI images was made, including subjects aged 6 to 14, with representation from both genders. Dependent variables included: the angle between the vocal folds, length of the right and left vocal folds, distance between the vocal processes, anteroposterior (AP) distance from the anterior commissure to the posterior wall of the larynx at the level of the vocal folds, AP distance 1cm below the vocal folds, and AP distance 2cm below the vocal folds. All measurements were performed in the axial plane. Independent variables included: age and sex. Results: Morphometry was conducted on 55 structural MRI images, including 33 females and 22 males. The independent variable, age, served as a predictor for six statistically significant models for forecasting the dependent variables: the length of both the right and left vocal folds increased by approximately 0.35 mm per year; the distance between the vocal processes increased by 0.30 mm; the AP distance from the anterior commissure to the posterior wall of the larynx increased by 0.55 mm; the AP distance 1 cm below the vocal folds increased by 0.55 mm; and the AP distance 2 cm below the vocal folds increased by 0.4 mm per year. No significant model was identified for the angle between the vocal folds. The independent variable, sex, did not present a significant model for predicting the dependent variables. Conclusion: Laryngeal and infralaryngeal morphometry was conducted on MRI images of children and adolescents, resulting in six predictive models for dependent variables based on age. Morphological measurements did not present significant differences considering sex in the studied population.