Bilateral asymmetry in Chinese families with cleft lip with or without cleft palate.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if Chinese individuals with nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) display more bilateral asymmetry than do their unaffected relatives.


METHODS
A case-control study of 313 individuals with CL/P from Shanghai, China, with 201 unaffected relatives as controls.


METHODS
Size-adjusted asymmetry scores were defined by data on middle-finger length, palm length, palpebral fissure width, and ear length. Case-control comparisons used a multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance, paired t tests, and the Wilcoxon signed rank test.


RESULTS
The ear-length measure showed a significant increase in fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in individuals with CL/P compared with their unaffected relatives, which was most pronounced in the female cleft lip and palate subgroup (p = .04). No other measures showed any increase in FA.


CONCLUSIONS
Evidence was found for increased FA, as measured by overall ear length, in Chinese individuals with nonsyndromic CL/P, compared with their unaffected family members. The use of bilateral measurements other than dermatoglyphics may prove to be a valuable means of assessing overall developmental stability in individuals with developmental malformations and in their families.
Neiswanger
Katherine
K
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Division of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219, USA. neiswank@sdmgenetics.pitt.edu
Cooper
Margaret E
ME
Liu
You-E
YE
Hu
Dan-Ning
DN
Melnick
Michael
M
Weinberg
Seth M
SM
Marazita
Mary L
ML
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D044466:Asian People; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000150:complications*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000150:complications*; D004431:Ear, External / Q000002:abnormalities*; D005143:Eyelids / Q000002:abnormalities; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000002:abnormalities; D006228:Hand Deformities, Congenital / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric