Anthropometric study of nasal indices in four Indian states

Abstract

Data on nasal index of 808 adult males and females distributed in four major states India were taken for present investigation, to study the morphometric variation. Nasal Index was computed and compared among male and female and among different states. Comparison of coefficient of variations shows that there exists variation in nasal breadth and nasal height, hence in nasal index. The study explained 3 types of nose in the population; Leptorhine, Mesorhine, and Platyrhine. The study found leptorhine or mesorhine type of nose are commonly found whereas platyrrhine is a rare finding in Indian population. Males of Uttar Pradesh has higher nasal index as compared to females of the same state. The study also found that leptorhine nose is commoner in Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir. The nasal index of overall males and females was 73.09 ± 0.46 and 72.85± 0.36 respectively. The nasal index for females from UP, Bihar, Jammu and Kerala were 76.94 ± 0.32, 80.38 ± 1.27, 62.96 ± 0.40 and 72.50 ± 0.30 respectively. On the other hand, in males from these states were 77.47 ± 0.32, 78.76 ± 0.24, 62.31 ± 0.42 and 72.53 ± 0.33 respectively.