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Three-Dimensional Geometric Morphometric Characterization of Facial Sexual Dimorphism in Juveniles
Riccardo Solazzo1, Annalisa Cappella2,3, Daniele Gibelli1
1Laboratory of Functional Anatomy of the Stomatognathic System (LAFAS), Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 13, 2025
Summary
Facial sexual dimorphism appears by age 3, with distinct male and female facial shapes emerging by age 7. This study used 3D geometric morphometrics to map these changes in juveniles.
Area of Science:
- Craniofacial morphology and development
- Human biology and genetics
- Anthropometry and biometrics
Background:
- Facial sexual dimorphism characterization provides normative data for surgical planning and identifying dysmorphic traits.
- Three-dimensional (3D) geometric morphometric (GMM) analysis offers enhanced insight into facial sexual differences in juveniles.
- Previous studies have investigated juvenile facial differences, but few utilized advanced 3D GMM.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the location and extent of facial sexual variations in juveniles using spatially dense 3D GMM.
- To detail sexually dimorphic traits across different age groups in healthy Italian juveniles.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed 3D stereophotogrammetric facial scans of 304 healthy Italians (3-18 years old).
- Categorized participants into four age groups: early childhood (3-6), late childhood (7-12), puberty (13-15), and adolescence (16-18).
- Performed GMM analyses including allometry, general Procrustes analysis, PCA, Procrustes distance, and PLS regression.
Main Results:
- Males exhibit larger faces than females of the same age across all investigated age groups.
- Significant facial shape differences between sexes are present from 3 years of age.
- Biological sex predicts facial soft tissue morphology from age 7, with males showing more protrusive mid-facial features and females more outward cheeks and eyes.
Conclusions:
- Detailed characterization of facial change trajectories in males and females across four age classes was provided.
- Data serves as valuable comparative reference for diagnosing craniofacial abnormalities and planning personalized treatments.
- Findings have potential applications in forensic science for identifying missing juveniles.
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