Relation of isolated tonsillar hypertrophy with body mass index

PubMed ID: 16549938Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between tonsillar hypertrophy and body mass index (BMI). Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which was conducted in three primary schools located in Duzce. A total of 1,282 children between 7 and 12 years of age were evaluated and the size of their tonsils was investigated with regard to height and weight. This study was performed in the course of school screening, and the correlation between estimated tonsil size and BMIs of the children was investigated. Results: Sixteen of 1,282 students were excluded from the study, leaving 1,266 children in the study. The mean (±SD) age of the children was 9.13 ± 1.45 (range 7-12) years. The mean height of the 1,266 children was 129.07 ± 9.95 (range 105-163) cm, the mean weight was 28.81 ± 6.96 (range 15-68) kg, and the mean BMI was 17.09 ± 2.33 (range 12.07-30.0) kg/m2. There was no statistically significant effect of tonsil size on BMI. We could not find a significant relation of isolated tonsillar hypertrophy with BMI. Conclusions: No relation could be found between tonsillar hypertrophy and BMI. Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG