Community-based Photogrammetric Assessment of Nasal Angles among Adults in the Garhwal Himalayas, Uttarakhand, India
Introduction: The nose has long been known to hold an important place in the medical sphere, owing to its important functions in olfaction and respiration. Its normal morphology and morphometry are also crucial for determining facial aesthetics. Different types of nasal deformities are also seen to be associated with various congenital anomalies. Anthropometry of the nose varies with age, gender and ethnicity. Aim: To explore region-, ethnic-, and gender-specific nasal angulations of the adult population of Garhwal, Himalayas, Uttarakhand, India. Materials and Methods: This community-based crosssectional observational study was conducted at the Department of Anatomy, Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Government Institute of Medical Science and Research, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India, from July 2024 to June 2025. Multistage sampling was applied to measure 141 males and 105 females residing in the Garhwal Himalayas, using the photogrammetric method. Nasofrontal, nasofacial, nasolabial, nasal-tip and interalar angles were measured employing the Magnus Analytics MagVision application. Descriptive (Mean and Standard deviation) and inferential (Independent t-test and Welch’s t-test) statistics were done by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, with p<0.05 as significant. Results: Means of nasofrontal angle was 123.79°±13.28° in males and 133.59°±6.72° in females, nasofacial angle was 33.94°±4.74° in males and 32.08°±3.47° in females, nasolabial angle was 93.49°±13.61° in males and 96.07°±12.20° in females, nasal-tip angle was 82.03°±5.05° in males and 82.69°±6.09° in females, inter-alar angle was 77.73°±10.58° in males and 79.14°±10.16° in females. Nasofrontal angle was found to be significantly higher in females, whereas nasofacial angle was higher in males. All angles also showed significant differences with those found by other authors in various ethnicities. Conclusion: Normal values of nasal angular parameters of the Garhwal Himalayan population have been established in this study. This will prove its worth during plastic surgeries of the face, diagnosing genetic diseases, manufacturing facial accessories and criminal investigation procedures.