Anthropometric Analysis of Indian Faces: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Facial anthropometric data vary significantly within the Indian population due to the racial, ethnic and geographic diversity. The anthropometric data of a given ethnic community may not match the other due to diverse ethnic variations, and hence, this study is intended to review the facial anthropometric data pertaining to the diverse Indian populace through a systematic literature survey.

Materials and method: An electronic search done on Medline, Embase and Central databases was utilized to conduct a systematic review of literature. The available data were analyzed based on the various esthetic subunits of the face. The following inclusion criteria were considered: (1) studies depicting the anthropometric data of any ethnic group identified as belonging to India, (2) studies originating from Indian subcontinent, (3) studies which included data of male and female subjects separately and (4) articles in English language only. The following exclusion criteria were considered: (1) atudies conducted on participants with severe malocclusion, developmental craniofacial anomalies, post-traumatic facial deformities or with a history of previous craniofacial or cosmetic surgery, (2) studies which did not specify the anthropometric landmarks used to obtain the measurements, (3) studies in which the statistical analysis was not provided, or if data were grouped across genders and (4) editorials, commentaries, case reports, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and articles not available in English language.

Results: Twenty-one articles met the inclusion criteria. Majority of the Indians, particularly men, seem to have a mesoproscopic facial phenotype. The vertical and horizontal facial dimensions of the Indian male are comparably larger than the Indian female. There is sexual dimorphism among the Indian population with regard to the upper and lower thirds of the face, with little or no gender difference as regards the middle third of the face. It was observed that the nasal dimensions of the Indian race were not compatible with that of the occidental, oriental or the western race. The overall facial structure and the upper half of the face were critical in determining facial attractiveness in Indian males while the lower half of the face and the mandibular contour were critical in determining facial attractiveness in females.

Conclusion: It is observed that there is a paucity of facial anthropometric data for the Indian population considering the ethnic, racial and geographic diversity. Since the prevalence of craniofacial anomalies and dentofacial deformities in India is high and thus the scope for corrective surgery, it is important to compile baseline facial anthropometric data based on the ethnic diversity of the Indian population.