Assessment of anterior face height in a native African sample

Introduction: The purpose of this research was to evaluate the anterior face height (AFH) of a native African ethnic group. Methods: Cephalograms of 101 adult ethnic Shona subjects (51 men, 50 women; age range, 18 to 38 years) were evaluated and compared with norms of African Americans and North American whites. A number of measurements, some conventionally used and others specifically derived for this study, were assessed, including ANS to Me, Me to PP, and Me to FH, TAFH, NOrb, NANS, NPP, OrbANS, and OrbPP. Three age groups were considered: less than 22 years, 22 to 25, and more than 25 years. Results: ANOVA detected significant differences among the 3 age groups and between the sexes. AFH was higher in men than in women. The post hoc Bonferroni test showed that NPP, NANS, and OrbPP were significantly different at ages less than 22 and more than 25. The older age group had shorter heights than the younger group. The AFH of the Shona was significantly lower than that of the African Americans. All AFHs for the men and only TAFH for the women were significantly shorter for the Shona than for the whites. Conclusions: The anterior vertical dimension of the Shona subjects was anatomically shorter than that of whites and African Americans, and conventional measurements did not provide the true status of the Shona, who had shorter lower AFHs.