In a study published in Laryngoscope, the Apnea Hypopnea Index scores (representing the number of apneic events per hour) during mouth breathing were 52.15, compared with 27.4 during nose breathing. The authors of the paper wrote that; “Mouth breathing was significantly associated with worse oxygen desaturation and increased degree of upper airway collapse.”
Hsu YB, Lan MY, Huang YC, Kao MC, Lan MC. Association Between Breathing Route, Oxygen Desaturation, and Upper Airway Morphology. Laryngoscope. 2021 Feb;131(2):E659-E664. doi: 10.1002/lary.28774. Epub 2020 May 30. PMID: 32473063.
