Craniofacial Anthropometric Profile of East Asians

Abstract

Facial anthropometric data has significant ethnic variation. East Asia, comprised of fourteen countries, represents a significant proportion of the global population. This systematic review presents the facial anthropometric data collected from these countries. The systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. An electronic search of the MEDLINE database returned 3054 articles. Twenty articles were considered eligible for inclusion. Nine studies were conducted in China, 1 in Indonesia, 2 in Japan,3 in Korea, 4 in Malaysia, and 1 was a multicentre study conducted in China, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Qualitative and quantitative parameters were extracted from the20 studies. No data was found for the other East Asian countries. There is a paucity of facial anthropometric data for East Asian countries despite their high burden of craniofacial anomalies and a strong demand for cosmetic facial surgery, both of which would benefit from the collection of robust craniofacial norms. It is in the interest of both the craniofacial surgeon and the East Asian patient to collect baseline facial anthropometric data for this population.