Age and sex dependent differences in midline facial soft tissue thicknesses measured on MRI scans of Northwest Indian subjects: a forensic anthropological study

Abstract

Background Human face is complex and intricate structure, with several features that are unique to each individual and can be taken as an identity pass in this mortal world. The facial profile of an individual holds materialistic value and is crucial for human identification. Present study aims to investigate the influence of sex and age of an individual on the soft tissue thicknesses (FSTT) at midline facial landmarks estimated on MRI scans. Methods Facial soft tissue thickness was estimated at 20 midline landmarks on the MRI scans of 120 (57 male; 63 female) anatomically normal Northwest Indian adult subjects (18–70 + years age-group). Age and sex dependent variations in tissue thicknesses at different landmarks were estimated using statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics 23. Results The results of the study yielded that most of the midline landmarks had higher values in males than in females indicating observable sexual dimorphism in FSTT values in this facial region, statistically significant differences were also noted in soft tissue thickness estimates of different age-groups, showing increasing or decreasing trend with age. The mid-facial landmarks like mid-philtrum, supra-dentale, incisor superius, and labile inferius displayed highly significant p values. Conclusions Present study results were in tandem with the findings of previous studies; males and younger age-group individuals were having higher tissue thickness values than the females and older individuals, respectively. The highest soft tissue estimates were obtained for the middle age subjects and the most aged individuals had the least midline soft tissue thickness values. These results can have significant forensic anthropological repercussions in attempting facial approximations on unknown skulls and identification of unknown individuals from still images, photographs or videos.