Anthropometric Variation Pattern of Canthal Distances with Advancing Age Among the Igbos of South-Eastern Nigerian

The objectives of the present study is to document the anthropometric variation pattern of the inner and outer canthal distances with advancing age among the Igbos of south eastern Nigeria. A total number of two thousand seven hundred subjects within age range of 7-40 years were measured (male = 1350 and female = 1350). The subjects were then grouped into nine groups. Each group was made up of 150 each of male and female subjects. These groups included subject within the following age range: 7-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-18, 19-21, 22-24, 25-27, 28-30 and 31-40. A non-stretchable plastic ruler was used for the measurement of canthal distances. For subjects between 7-9 and 13-15 years old age groups, the inner canthal distance lengthened by 6.2 mm in males and 41 mm in females while the outer canthal distance increased by 9.2 mm in males and in females 9.5 mm. For ages between 16-18 and 22-25 years old groups, the inner canthal distance gradually lengthened further by 6 mm in males while in females it gradually shortened by 10 mm while in the outer canthal distance value the male value shortened by 3 mm while female value further lengthened slightly by 13 mm. For ages between 25-27 and 31-40 years old, the inner canthal distance gradually shortened by 7 mm in females while in males its values did not change while in the outer canthal distance value the male value shortened by 3.8 mm while female value remained the same. In this study, we concluded that aging affects the growth rate of the canthal distances with a higher growth rate noted in the 7 to 15 years old subjects. These data would be of benefit to the anthropologist, orthodontist and dysmorphologist.