Comparison of craniofacial measurements in various female ethnic groups

The analysis of craniofacial measurements has been used for many scientific and medical problems. Various studies have indicated differences between populations and ethnic groups. Ethnicity has been indentified as an important factor in the analysis of data on craniofacial morphology. The aim of this study was to compare and discuss the presently available data for some craniofacial measurements in various female ethnic groups. In this study nine craniofacial measurements (physiognomical face height, morphological face height, maximum facial breadth, mandible breadth, intercanthal width, biocular width, nose height, nose width and labial fissure width) were selected and their mean values were compared between six ethnic groups (Latvian, North American whites, Germany, Iranian, Indian and Angolan females). The face index was calculated and compared parallelly. The results of the present study showed that Latvian and Iranian females had hyperleptoprosop-type of the face shape, but North American whites and females from Germany had the leptoprosop-type face. Indian females had the mesoprosop-type face, while Angolan females had the euryprosop-type face. The results of the study demonstrated statistically significant differences between the selected groups of subjects in all variables.