OBJECTIVES: Facial directional asymmetry research, including age-related changes, is crucial for the evaluation of treatment of craniofacial malformations/trauma in orthodontics, facial surgery and forensic sciences. The aim was to describe facial directional asymmetry (DA) in different age categories of adults using 3D methods. According to our hypothesis, facial shape DA (1) depends on sex; (2) differs among age groups; and (3) has wider variability in older age. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional sample of healthy Czech adults without craniofacial trauma or anomalies consisted of 300 3D facial models (151 females). The age-range in the study was between 20-80 years. The shape asymmetry of 28 3D landmarks was evaluated using geometric morphometrics and multivariate statistics. RESULTS: The manifestation of DA was similar in both sexes and in each age category; however, there were some statistical differences. In contrast to the ideal symmetrical face, the mean asymmetrical faces tended to create a slightly bent "C" shape of the midline. Therefore, the upper face was rotated slightly clockwise and the lower face counter-clockwise. The right eye was located slightly higher, with the nasal tip and mandibular region tilting to the left. Sex differences in facial DA were significant before the age of 40. DA was more significant in the youngest males than in the oldest, while the women's DA did not change. CONCLUSIONS: The DA patterns were similar in both sexes and in all age categories (a slightly bent C shape of the midline); however, some significant local differences between male age groups were found. A significantly more pronounced asymmetry compared to other age groups was found only in the youngest males from 20 to 40 years. Moreover, significant sexual dimorphism of DA rapidly decreased after middle age, likely caused by the same age-related changes of the face during aging.

• MeSH
• asymetrie obličeje * etiologie   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• nos MeSH
• pohlavní dimorfismus MeSH
• průřezové studie MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• zobrazování trojrozměrné * MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

A detailed understanding of craniofacial ontogenetic development is important in a variety of scientific disciplines dealing with facial reconstruction, forensic identification, ageing prediction, and monitoring of pathological growth, including the effect of therapy. The main goals of this study were (1) the construction of the facial aging model using local polynomial regression fitting separately for both sexes, (2) evaluation of the aging effect not only on facial form as a whole but also on dimensions important for clinical practice, and (3) monitoring of the development of shape facial sexual dimorphism. Our study was based on the form and shape analysis of three-dimensional facial surface models of 456 individuals aged 14-83 years. The facial models were obtained using a structured light-based optical scanner and divided (for some analyses) into four age categories (juveniles, young adults, middle adults, and elderly adults). The methodology was based on geometric and classic morphometrics including multivariate statistics. Aging in both sexes shared common traits such as more pronounced facial roundness reducing facial convexity, sagging soft tissue, smaller visible areas of the eyes, greater nose, and thinner lips. In contrast to female faces, male faces increase in size until almost 30 years of age. After the age of 70, male facial size not only stagnates, like in females, but actually decreases slightly. Sexual dimorphic traits tended to diminish in the frontal and orbitonasal areas and increase in the gonial area.

• MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• nos MeSH
• obličej * MeSH
• oči MeSH
• pohlavní dimorfismus * MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• stárnutí MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Modelling of the development of facial morphology during childhood and adolescence is highly useful in forensic and biomedical practice. However, most studies in this area fail to capture the essence of the face as a three-dimensional structure. The main aims of our present study were (1) to construct ageing trajectories for the female and male face between 7 and 17 years of age and (2) to propose a three-dimensional age progression (age -regression) system focused on real growth-related facial changes. Our approach was based on an assessment of a total of 522 three-dimensional (3D) facial scans of Czech children (39 boys, 48 girls) that were longitudinally studied between the ages of 7 to 12 and 12 to 17 years. Facial surface scans were obtained using a Vectra-3D scanner and evaluated using geometric morphometric methods (CPD-DCA, PCA, Hotelling's T2 tests). We observed very similar growth rates between 7 and 10 years in both sexes, followed by an increase in growth velocity in both sexes, with maxima between 11 and 12 years in girls and 11 to 13 years in boys, which are connected with the different timing of the onset of puberty. Based on these partly different ageing trajectories for girls and boys, we simulated the effects of age progression (age regression) on facial scans. In girls, the mean error was 1.81 mm at 12 years and 1.7 mm at 17 years. In boys, the prediction system was slightly less successful: 2.0 mm at 12 years and 1.94 mm at 17 years. The areas with the greatest deviations between predicted and real facial morphology were not important for facial recognition. Changes of body mass index percentiles in children throughout the observation period had no significant influence on the accuracy of the age progression models for both sexes.

• MeSH
• biologické modely * MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• longitudinální studie MeSH
• maxilofaciální vývoj fyziologie   MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• obličej * MeSH
• pohlavní dimorfismus * MeSH
• vývoj dítěte fyziologie   MeSH
• vývoj mladistvých fyziologie   MeSH
• zobrazování trojrozměrné * MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• klinické zkoušky MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

In this paper we present a three-dimensional (3D) morphometrical assessment of human tibia sexual dimorphism based on whole bone digital representation. To detect shape-size and shape differences between sexes, we used geometric morphometric tools and colour-coded surface deviation maps. The surface-based methodology enabled analysis of sexually dimorphic features throughout the shaft and articular ends of the tibia. The overall study dataset consisted of 183 3D models of adult tibiae from three Czech population subsets, dating to the early medieval (9-10th century) (N = 65), early 20th century (N = 61) and 21st-century (N = 57). The time gap between the chronologically most distant and contemporary datasets was more than 1200 years. The results showed that, in all three datasets, sexual dimorphism was pronounced. There were some sex-dimorphic characteristics common to all three samples, such as tuberosity protrusion, anteriorly bowed shaft and relatively larger articular ends in males. Diachronic comparisons also revealed substantial shape variation related to the most dimorphic area. Male/female distinctions showed a consistent temporal trend regarding the location of dimorphic areas (shifting distally with time), while the maximal deviation between male and female digitized surfaces fluctuated and reached the lowest level in the 21st-century sample. Sex determination on a whole-surface basis yielded the lowest return of correct sex assignment in the 20th-century group, which represented the lowest socioeconomic status. The temporal variation could be attributed to changes in living conditions, the decreasing lower limb loading/labour division in the last 12 centuries having the greatest effect. Overall, the results showed that a surface-based approach is successful for analysing complex long bone geometry.

• MeSH
• analýza hlavních komponent metody   MeSH
• antropometrie přístrojové vybavení   metody   MeSH
• dějiny 20. století MeSH
• dějiny 21. století MeSH
• dějiny středověku MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• počítačové zpracování obrazu statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• pohlavní dimorfismus * MeSH
• tibie anatomie a histologie   fyziologie   MeSH
• určení pohlaví podle kostry přístrojové vybavení   metody   MeSH
• zobrazování trojrozměrné přístrojové vybavení   metody   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dějiny 20. století MeSH
• dějiny 21. století MeSH
• dějiny středověku MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• historické články MeSH