A three-dimensional look for facial differences between males and females in a British-Caucasian sample aged 15½ years old

A selection of abstracts of clinically relevant papers from other journals. The abstracts on this page have been chosen and edited by John R. Radford.

Abstract

In a third of adolescents, there is no difference in facial profiles between males and females.

Main

Toma A M, Zhurov A et al. Orthod Craniofac Res 2008; 11: 180–185

Male and female facial profiles of 380 'British-Caucasian' adolescents were compared using optical surface scanning. This 'records the three-dimension shape of the face non-invasively'. The subjects were recruited from an initial sample of 14,541 pregnancies that made up the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Thirty scans were excluded from the study. Thirty-one percent of 'facial shells' from males and females matched exactly. From the remaining subjects, males tended to have more prominent noses and mouths, whereas females had more prominent eyes and cheeks, although the differences were small (<2.5 mm). These observations confirmed findings from other studies.