A Comparative Study of Fluctuating Asymmetry in Chinese Families with Nonsyndromic Cleft Palate

Objective To compare the asymmetry displayed by Chinese patients with nonsyndromic cleft palate (NSCP), their unaffected parents, and a control population. Method With rigorous inclusion criteria, a total number of 675 individuals with NSCP, 675 parental pairs of these patients, and 650 control individuals were involved in this case-control study. Size-adjusted fluctuating asymmetry (FA) scores were calculated by data on 10 variables. Analysis of variance was used for a three-way comparison of patients/gender-matched parents/gender-matched controls. Results A significant increase in FA for ear length ( p < .05) was noted in NSCP patients when compared with their gender-matched parents. A significant increase in FA for ear length and palpebral fissure width ( p < .05) was observed in NSCP patients when compared with the gender-matched control population. A significant increase in FA for palpebral fissure width ( p < .05) was detected in parents of NSCP patients when compared with a gender-matched control population. Conclusion Our results indicated that, when compared with a gender-matched control population, patients with NSCP show significantly increased FA in both ear length and palpebral fissure width, but the parents of patients with NSCP show significantly increased FA only in palpebral fissure width. In general, these characteristics seem to be more distinct in male individuals.