Nasal Anthropometry of Adult <i>Tiv</i> and <i>Idoma</i> Tribes of Nigeria

Abstract

Nasalanthropometry measures nasal parameters for ethnic morphological nasal classification and categorization. This study was carried out to determine the nasal index in the target population and compare it in both sexes and with the result of other similar studies. The sample consisted of 600 youths aged 18 - 32 years. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire to establish ethnic background. Nasal length and nasal breadth were measured using vernier calipers and the nasal index calculated according to standard formula. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS for windows version 20 (IBM Corporation, New York, USA). Statistical significance was considered at p ≤ 0.05. The mean nasal length of Tiv was 4.4 ± 0.63 cm and the mean nasal breadth was 4.2 ± 0.59 cm. The mean nasal length of Idoma was 4.3 ± 0.67 cm and the mean nasal breadth was 3.9 ± 0.61 cm. There was a statistically significant mean difference in nasal breadth between the two ethnic groups (p = 0.001) with higher mean value in Tiv relative to Idoma. Both ethnic groups exhibited sexual dimorphism of nasal length, nasal breadth and nasal index with males having significantly higher mean values than females (p < 0.05). The mean nasal index of Tiv was 95.7 ± 10.97 while that of Idoma was 92.3 ± 11.03. Based on nasal index, it was concluded that the nose type in the two ethnic groups was platyrrhine.