title: Age- and sex-related growth patterns of the craniofacial complex in European children aged 3-6 years.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Craniofacial growth changes in young children are not yet completely understood. Up-to-date references for craniofacial measurements are crucial for clinical assessment of orthodontic anomalies, craniofacial abnormalities and subsequent planning of interventions.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To provide normal reference data and to identify growth patterns for craniofacial dimensions of European boys and girls aged 3-6 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using standard anthropometric methodology, body weight, body height and 23 craniofacial measurements were acquired for a cross-sectional sample of 681 healthy children (362 boys and 319 girls) aged 3-6 years from Germany, Italy and Lithuania. Descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, percentage annual changes and percentage growth rates were used to analyse the dataset.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between the ages of 3-6 years, craniofacial measurements showed age- and sex-related patterns independent from patterns observed for body weight and body height. Sex-related differences were observed in the majority of craniofacial measurements. In both sexes, face heights and face depths showed the strongest correlation with age. Growth patterns differed by craniofacial measurement and can be summarised into eight distinct age- and sex-related patterns.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provided reference data and identified sex- and age-related growth patterns of the craniofacial complex of young European children, which may be used for detailed assessment of normal growth in paediatrics, maxillofacial reconstructive surgery and possibly for forensic age assessment.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Anatomy , Histology and Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University , Vilnius , Lithuania.
authors.forename: Janina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tutkuviene
authors.affiliation: b LABANOF, Istituto di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
authors.affiliation: b LABANOF, Istituto di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Obertová
authors.affiliation: c Institute of Forensic Medicine, University Clinic, Heinrich-Heine-University , Düsseldorf , Germany , and.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ratnayake
authors.affiliation: b LABANOF, Istituto di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Poppa
authors.affiliation: a Department of Anatomy , Histology and Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University , Vilnius , Lithuania.
authors.forename: Arunas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barkus
authors.affiliation: d Department of Human Biology , Zoological Institute, Christian-Albrechts-University , Kiel , Germany.
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khalaj-Hedayati
authors.affiliation: d Department of Human Biology , Zoological Institute, Christian-Albrechts-University , Kiel , Germany.
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.affiliation: c Institute of Forensic Medicine, University Clinic, Heinrich-Heine-University , Düsseldorf , Germany , and.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ritz-Timme
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000886:Anthropometry; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018401:Sample Size; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: Craniofacial anthropometry; Europe; children; growth; norm