Najume et al. J Biomed & App Sci FUD (2024) 4:2
Keywords: Age, anthropometry, body mass index (BMI), Hausa, nasofacial.
2026-02-07 DOI: JOBASFUD_2025_4_1_005
Background: It is documented that people are fairly accurate at judging weight using facial appearance alone. There are changes in the facial soft tissues in accordance with nutritional status of an individual which may lead to variation in body proportion. The aim of this study was to find the effect of age on nasofacial anthropometry and body mass index among adults of Hausa ethnic group in Kano State, which could be beneficial in various fields such as forensic science, dietetics, security, plastic/cosmetics surgery, orthodontics and ergonomics. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional design which involved 481 participants (271 females and 210 males). Ethical approval was obtained from ministry of Health Kano state and College of Health Sciences, Bayero University Kano. The facial height, facial width, nasal height, nasal width, body height and weight were measured in accordance with established literature. Statistical analyses carried out included descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Benforroni post-hoc test using IBM SPSS version 23. Results: Significant differences were observed between early (18-24 years), middle (25-34 years) and late adults (35-40 years) groups in body height, facial height and facial width was statistically significant and the late adult indicated the highest mean value however the significant difference between the middle and late adults were not statistically significance. The three experimental age groups indicating statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) in body weight, body mass index and nasal width with the late adult age group indicated higher mean value in all the parameters. In nasal height statistically significant difference (p = 0.015) was found only between early and late adult age groups. The facial and nasal indices showed no significant statistical difference however late adult age groups were reported with highest mean value. Conclusion: This study revealed a strong relationship between age and several anthropometric parameters, including facial height, facial width, nasal width, body height, body weight, and BMI (p < 0.001). Conversely, nasal height, facial index (p = 0.209), and nasal index (p = 0.155) demonstrated weak associations with age among the Hausa adult population of Kano State, Nigeria.