title: Mental distances and relationship to body mass index in young healthy Nigerian adults: a population based study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was conducted to determine normal ranges of sterno-mental distance (SMD) and thyromental distance (TMD) and to examine the relationship of these measurements to each other and the body mass index (BMI).
  
  
  METHODS
  The SMD, TMD and BMI were assessed in a total of 409 apparently healthy adult subjects comprising 218 male and 190 female participants who volunteered for the study. The parameters were measured by standard methods and the obtained data analysed for the degree of association using Pearson Correlation Statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean values of SMD and TMD were significantly higher in males than in females. The BMI was statistically same in both sexes. Sterno-mental distance correlated positively with TMD in both sexes (r = 0.86, p = 0.005) while BMI correlated negatively with SMD (r = -0.166, p = 0.108) as well as to the TMD (r = -0.147, p = 0.04) in both sexes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In young healthy adult populations the SMD and TMD are strongly related to each other but are unrelated to the BMI. Males tend to have on average longer SMD and TMD as compared to females. Our findings could be a useful tool during pre-anaesthetic airway assessment of patients.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Science Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 7213 Medical Sciences Building I King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1 AS. blessing.jaja@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Jaja
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fyneface-Ogan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009333:Neck / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D009549:Nigeria; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013249:Sternum / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology*