Department of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, Faculty of Medicine Ljubljana, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Department of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
PLoS One. 2020 May 14;15(5):e0231983. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231983. eCollection 2020.
The aim of this study was to quantify gender-specific facial characteristics in younger and older adults and to determine how aging and body characteristics, such as height and body-mass index (BMI), influence facial sexual dimorphism.
The cohort study included 90 younger adults of Caucasian origin (average age of 45 females 23.2 ± 1.9 and 45 males 23.7 ± 2.4 years) and 90 older adults (average age of 49 females 78.1 ± 8.1 and 41 males 74.5 ± 7.7 years). Three-dimensional facial scans were performed with an Artec MHT 3D scanner. The data were analyzed using the software package Rapidform®. The parameters to evaluate facial symmetry, height, width, profile, facial shape, nose, eyes and mouth characteristics were determined based on 39 facial landmarks. Student's t-test was used to calculate the statistical differences between the genders in the younger and older adults and a multiple-linear-regression analysis was used to evaluate the impact of gender, age, body-mass index and body height.
We found that the female faces were more symmetrical than the male faces, and this was statistically significant in the older adults. The female facial shape was more rounded and their faces were smaller, after normalizing for body size. The males had wider mouths, longer upper lips, larger noses and more prominent lower foreheads. Surprisingly, we found that all the gender-dependent characteristics were even more pronounced in the older adults. Increased facial asymmetry, decreased facial convexity, increased forehead angle, narrower vermilions and longer inter-eye distances occurred in both genders during aging. An increased BMI was associated with wider faces, more concave facial profiles and wider noses, while greater body height correlated with increased facial heights and wider mouths.
Facial sexual dimorphism was confirmed by multiple parameters in our study, while the differences between the genders were more pronounced in the older adults.
本研究旨在量化年轻和老年成年人中特定性别的面部特征，并确定衰老和身体特征（如身高和体重指数（BMI））如何影响面部性别二态性。
该队列研究包括 90 名白种人来源的年轻成年人（女性平均年龄为 45 岁，为 23.2 ± 1.9 岁，男性为 45 岁，为 23.7 ± 2.4 岁）和 90 名老年成年人（女性平均年龄为 49 岁，为 78.1 ± 8.1 岁，男性为 41 岁，为 74.5 ± 7.7 岁）。使用 Artec MHT 3D 扫描仪进行三维面部扫描。使用 Rapidform®软件包分析数据。基于 39 个面部标志，确定了评估面部对称性、高度、宽度、侧面轮廓、面部形状、鼻子、眼睛和嘴巴特征的参数。使用学生 t 检验计算年轻和老年成年人中性别之间的统计差异，并使用多元线性回归分析评估性别、年龄、体重指数和身高的影响。
我们发现女性的面部比男性更对称，而且在老年成年人中这具有统计学意义。女性的面部形状更圆润，而且在正常化身体尺寸后，她们的脸更小。男性的嘴巴更宽，上唇更长，鼻子更大，下前额更突出。令人惊讶的是，我们发现所有性别相关的特征在老年成年人中更为明显。在衰老过程中，两性的面部对称性增加，面部凸度降低，额角增大，唇红变窄，眼距增大。BMI 的增加与面部变宽、面部轮廓更凹和鼻子变宽有关，而身高的增加与面部高度增加和嘴巴变宽有关。
本研究通过多个参数证实了面部性别二态性，而在老年成年人中，性别之间的差异更为明显。
