An anthropometric study of the morphological facial index of Tibetan youth living in Tibet

Abstract The purpose of this study was to understand gender differences and variations in facial indices among Tibetans and to create and evaluate anthropometric data on facial morphology. The study population consisted of 479 native Tibetans (242 males and 237 females) aged 18–24 years. The median facial width was 134.00 mm for males and 134.40 mm for females; the difference between the genders was not statistically significant. The median facial height was 108.00 mm for males and 115.00 mm for females; the difference between the genders was statistically significant (Z = 5.014, p = 0.000). The median morphological facial index was 80.29 for males and 85.83 for females; the difference between the genders was statistically significant (Z = 3.800, p = 0.000). The proportion of the Tibetan male facial shape was hypereuryprosopic (45.6%) > euryprosopic (31.1%) > mesoprosopic (18.7%) > leptoprosopic (3.3%) > hyperleptoprosopic (1.2%). The proportion of the Tibetan female facial shape was hypereuryprosopic (25.5%) > mesoprosopic (22.6%) > euryprosopic (21.7%) > leptoprosopic (17.4%) > hyperleptoprosopic (12.8%). Facial width was positively correlated with height (male r = 0.306, p = 0.000; female r = 0.144, p = 0.027), weight (r = 0.470, p = 0.000 for males; r = 0.337, p = 0.000 for females), and BMI (r = 0.378, p = 0.000 for males; r = 0.291, p = 0.000 for females). Facial height was positively correlated with height (r = 0.329, p = 0.000 for males; r = 0.137, p = 0.035 for females) and weight (r = 0.391, p = 0.000 for males; r = 0.170, p = 0.009 for females). Facial height was positively correlated with BMI in Tibetan males (r = 0.293, p = 0.000), but no significant correlation was found in Tibetan females. The morphological facial index of Tibetans was positively correlated with age (r = 0.183, p = 0.004 for males; r = 0.171, p = 0.009 for females). The results indicated that Tibetan youth in Tibet have a predominantly hypereuryprosopic facial shape and that facial features are related to age, height, and weight. Some common facial morphology features exist among the Tibet Tibetans, northeastern Indians, and Nepalese in the three different regions of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The data from this study provide basic information for the study of Tibetans in the fields of physical anthropology, forensic medicine, maxillofacial surgery, and plastic surgery.