Facial and Canthal Indices of Adolescents of Ogoni tribe in Nigeria

Most research work on facial and canthal indices have shown very distinct characteristics across several tribes. These peculiarities are influenced by age, sex, tribe and geographical location. Our aim therefore is to determine the facial and canthal indices in adolescents of Ogoni tribe. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 96 participants (43 males and 53 females) who were within the age range of 13 - 17 years. Anthropometric Measurements of the intercanthal distances (outer and inner canthal distances), canthal index, facial height, facial width, and facial index were done using a high precision stainless steel digital vernier caliper 8” 200mm with 0.02 precision. The male adolescents had higher facial height than their female counterparts. The facial height irrespective of age group was 104.73mm and 101.73mm for males and females respectively. This was statistically significant (P<0.05). Also the canthal index irrespective of age group for both male and female adolescents was 33.18 and 33.73 respectively. This however was not statistically significant (P>0.05) although there was a statutory increase with age. ANOVA test for individual male and female groups show a statistically significant (P = 0) variation across age groups for all the facial and canthal indices studied. Facial height and facial index show sexual dimorphism and are reliable parameters to distinguish between sexes. Females have a higher canthal index as compared to their male counterparts, although this was not statistically significant.

Key Words: Facial index, Canthal index, Facial height, Ogoni, Adolescents