Estimation of Stature from Facial indices among Iranian medical students

Objective: Anthropometric data, particularly naso-facial dimensions, is important in sex determination, forensic medicine and plastic surgery. The aim of present study is to assess the facial indices, to classify the type of face and to determine the relation between stature and facial height and facial width among Iranian medical students. Methods: This study was done on 200 medical students (100 males and 100 females), in the range of 18–30 years. Stature, facial height and facial width were measured by using a standard spreading caliper and facial index calculated for determination of facial type. The linear regression used for examining the relationship between stature and facial length and facial width. Results: The result of study showed that the mean and standard deviation of the facial index of males and female students were 87.53±8.81 and 89.25±10.09, respectively. The facial index didn’t have statistically significant difference between two groups (P=0.202). According to the results, the dominant type of facial shape in male students was mesoprosopic and in female students were europrosopic. There was a correlation between stature and facial height (r =0.27, P=0.000) and facial width (r =0.54, P=0.000). Conclusion: The data of present study can be beneficial in face reconstruction, clinical diagnosis and forensics applications.