Cheeks appearance as a novel predictor of obstructive sleep apnea: the CASA score study.

Study Objectives: Four well-established predictors of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) risk are body mass index, age, sex, and neck circumference. We have previously reported cheeks appearance as an OSA predictor, which may represent a combination of such predictors in a single, readily available feature. This study sought to answer the question: Is cheeks appearance an OSA risk predictor?

Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study based on STARD (standards for reporting diagnostic accuracy studies).