title: Dermatoglyphic fingerprint heterogeneity among individuals with nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate and their unaffected relatives in China and the Philippines.
abstract: Cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is a common birth defect (birth prevalence ranging from 1/500 to 1/2,000) with a complex etiology. Traits potentially related to CL/P, such as dermatoglyphics, may reflect the genetic and epidemiologic heterogeneity observed in CL/P. Such phenotypic heterogeneity in dermatoglyphic patterns may account for some of the variability in previously reported associations of dermatoglyphics and CL/P. To test this hypothesis, we took dermatoglyphic prints from individuals with nonsyndromic CL/P (n = 460) and their unaffected relatives (n = 254) from the Philippines and China. For both samples three raters designated the patterns as arch, ulnar loop, radial loop, whorl, or "other." Chi-square analysis and standard ANOVA were used to investigate heterogeneity between Filipino and Chinese study subjects. The significant associations between particular pattern types and CL/P were not the same in both populations, demonstrating population-specific association of CL/P and dermatoglyphic pattern types. The ANOVA of pattern type included both CL/P cases and their relatives, with affection status, sex, and population group as variables. For each pattern type except arches, population was significant (p < 0.0001); for radial loops, affection status was additionally significant (p < 0.0001). When only CL/P cases were considered, population was again significant for the ulnar loop (p < 0.0001), whorl (p < 0.0001), and "other" (p = 0.0002) patterns. The ANOVAs demonstrate between-population heterogeneity in dermatoglyphic pattern types. These results support our hypothesis that population-specific associations and population heterogeneity in dermatoglyphic patterns exist for CL/P cases and their relatives.
authors.affiliation: Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Suite 500, Cellomics Building, 100 Technology Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA.
authors.forename: Nicole M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Seth M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Weinberg
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Neiswanger
authors.forename: Carla A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Brandon
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Daack-Hirsch
authors.forename: Jeffrey C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: You-E
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Mary L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Marazita
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D003878:Dermatoglyphics; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D010679:Philippines / Q000453:epidemiology; D044382:Population Groups / Q000235:genetics