title: Phenotypic characteristics of adolescents with concave and convex facial profiles - The National Health Examination Survey.
abstract: It has been suggested that facial traits are informative on the inherited susceptibility to tuberculosis and obesity, two current global health issues. Our aim was to compare the phenotypic characteristics of adolescents with dental markers for a concave (n=420), a convex (n=978), and a straight (n=3542) facial profile in a nationally representative sample of United States adolescents. The results show that adolescents with a concave facial profile, when compared to a straight facial profile, had an increased waist-to-height ratio (Δ, 1.1 [95% CI 0.5-1.7], p<0.003) and an increased acne prevalence (OR, 1.5 [95% CI 1.2-1.9], p<0.001). Adolescents with a convex facial profile, when compared to a straight facial profile, had an increased prevalence of tuberculosis (OR, 4.3 [95% CI 1.4-13.1], p<0.02), increased ectomorphy (Δ, 0.3 [95% CI 0.2-0.4], p<0.0001), increased left-handedness (OR, 1.4 [95% CI 1.1-1.7], p<0.007), increased color-blindness (OR, 1.7 [95% CI 1.3-2.3], p<0.004), and rhesus ee phenotype (OR, 1.3 [95% CI 1.1-1.5], p<0.008). Adolescents with a concave facial profile, when compared to a convex profile, had increased mesomorphy (Δ, 1.3 [95% CI 1.1-1.5], p<0.0001), increased endomorphy (Δ, 0.5 [95% CI 0.4-0.6], p<0.0001), lower ectomorphy (Δ, 0.5 [95% CI 0.4-0.6], p<0.0001), and lower vocabulary test scores (Δ, 2.3 [95% CI 0.8-3.8], p<0.008). It is concluded that population-based survey data confirm that distinct facial features are associated with distinct somatotypes and distinct disease susceptibilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Oral Health Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: hujoel@uw.edu.
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Hujoel
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors.forename: A-M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bollen
authors.affiliation: Swedish Pituitary Center, Swedish Neuroscience Institute, 550 17th Ave Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98122, USA.
authors.forename: K C J
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic, 200 1st Street Southwest, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Hujoel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000886:Anthropometry; D002508:Cephalometry; D002648:Child; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D010641:Phenotype; D011378:Prognathism / Q000473:pathology; D063173:Retrognathia / Q000473:pathology; D013008:Somatotypes; D014481:United States