A study of facial indices among young Malay adults

Abstract

Facial analysis is anthropologically useful to identify the racial, ethnical, and sexual differences. The present study was done to see the sex difference and variation of facial index among Malaysian population. Cross-sectional descriptive type of study was done in Anatomy Department in UniKL RCMP which was performed on 81 Malay people (40 males, 41 females) aged 19–30 years. To measure the morphological parameters (facial height, facial width, and facial index), digital slide calliper and scale were used. There were significant differences found in all facial parameters of males compared with the females.The mean morphological facial height was 111.9 ± 8.4 and morphological facial width was 127.3 ± 8.0. The range of facial index was 67.44–106.90 for males and 75.21–97.99 for females. The total facial index was calculated according to the formula and the results obtained were analyzed statistically using the 𝑡-test which was statistically significant (0.003). The dominant phenotype in Malay population was mesoprosopic or round face (45%) and least common face type was hyperleptoprosopic or very long face (5%). There were significant variations in the face index between Malay males and females; further study with large sample size in different races in Malaysia is recommended.