Correlation of orbital index to height, age and sex of adult Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria

<p>Edwin Ewunonu Ojims</p>

Correlation of orbital index to height, age and sex of adult Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria

Edwin Ewunonu Ojims

Ebonyi State University, Nigeria

: Int J Ment Health Psychiatry

Abstract

The orbit accommodates the eyeball and provides the socket for its rotary movements. The use of Vernier calipers to study orbital anthropometry has been a common practice among researchers in various parts of the world, including Nigeria. Such studies have demonstrated that orbital dimensions vary among different populations. Anthropologists have also proposed that there could be a correlation between orbital width and height analyzed by the orbital index [orbital index = (orbital height/orbital width)×100]. Orbital cavities are of immense clinical and surgical interest in ophthalmology, oral and maxillofacial surgery and in neurosurgery. Generally, surgeons require access to craniofacial database based on accurate anthropological measurements in order to successfully treat congenital or post-traumatic facial disfigurements. The present study estimates the orbital index of adult Igbo people living in Abakaliki Area of Ebonyi State in southeastern Nigeria from their orbital dimensions after due verbal consent. They include a total number of 200 subjects, comprising 101 females and 99 males. Their age range falls within 18 and 60 years. The data was statistically analyzed and documented. The result shows that the subjects have a mean orbital index of 83.85±7.24 with the female index slightly higher than the males.