Análisis de la Distancia entre Hueso Occipital y Atlas en Telerradiografía Lateral de Cráneo

Knowledge of the suboccipital space (OA) is essential for clinicians because its decrease is associated with headache. The aim of this study was to determine the differences in the length of the suboccipital space in lateral cephalograms of men and women of different age ranges. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 371 lateral cephalograms were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and the application of Student's t-test and ANOVA were performed to evaluate the association between the suboccipital space with sex and age. The mean distance of the suboccipital space was of 5.62 ± 2.7 mm, being higher in men than women (6.49 ± 2.8 mm and 5.09 ± 2.5 mm respectively, p < 0.001). Regarding age, the distance of the suboccipital space did not show significant variations. The length of the OA between men and women of different age groups also showed no significant differences. There is a great variability in the distance of the suboccipital space, which is observed to be more decreased in women; therefore, an individual analysis by lateral cephalograms is suggested in patients with chronic headaches.