Photo-anthropometric study on face among Garo adult females of Bangladesh

Abstract

Facial anthropometry has well-known implications in health-related fields. Measurement of human face is used in identification of person in Forensic medicine, Plastic surgery, Orthodontics, Archeology, Hairstyle design and examination of the differences between races and ethnicities. Facial anthropometry provides an indication of the variations in facial shape in a specified population. Bangladesh harbours many cultures and people of different races because of the colonial rules of the past regimes. Standards based on ethnic or racial data are desirable because these standards reflect the potentially different patterns of craniofacial growth resulting from racial, ethnic and sexual differences. In the above context, the present study was attempted to establish ethnic specific anthropometric data for the Christian Garo adult females of Bangladesh. The study was an observational, cross-sectional and primarily descriptive in nature with some analytical components and it was carried out with a total number of 100 Christian Garo adult females aged between 25-45 years. Three vertical facial dimensions such as facial height from ‘trichion’ to ‘gnathion’, nasal length and total vermilion height were measured by photographic method. Though these measurements were taken by photographic method but they were converted into actual size using one of the physically measured variables between two angles of the mouth (chilion to chilion). The data were then statistically analyzed by computation to find out its normatic value. The study also observed the possible ‘correlation’ between the facial height from ‘trichion’ to ‘gnathion’ with nasal length and total vermilion height. Multiplication factors were estimated for estimating facial height from nasal length and total vermilion height. Comparison were made between ‘estimated’ values with the ‘measured’ values by using‘t’ test. The mean (±SD) of nasal length and total vermilion height were 4.53±0.36 cm and 1.63±0.23 cm respectively and the mean (±SD) of facial height from ‘trichion’ to ‘gnathion’ was 16.88±1.11 cm. Nasal length and total vermilion height showed also a significant positive correlation with facial height from ‘trichion’ to ‘gnathion’. No significant difference was found between the ‘measured’ and ‘estimated’ facial height from ‘trichion’ to ‘gnathion’ for nasal length and total vermilion height. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bmrcb.v39i2.19643 Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2013; 39: 61-64