OBJECTIVETo investigate the age variations of head-face morphological traits of Hakka in Guangdong Province.

METHODSThirty-eight physical indices of head and face of 671 Hakka adults (151 urban males, 181 urban females, 162 rural males and 177 rural females) from Meizhou city of Guangdong were investigated. Twelve physical indices of head and face were calculated and counted its indices distributions. The age changes of morphological traits of head and face were analyzed.

RESULTSWith the age growing, the rate of eyefold of the upper eyelid was increased, and the Mongoloid fold decreased, the direction of eyeslits tended to level, nasal root height dropped, the zygomatic projection was more projected, the eye color turned to lighter, the upper red lips became thinner; medium-sized facial height, nasal height, upper lip skin height, physiognomic ear length, physiognomic ear breadth and breadth of alae nasi were decreased. The index of mouth breadth, morphological facial skin fold were positively correlated with the age. The index of minimum frontal breadth, face breadth, bigonial diameter, interocular breadth, external biocular breadth, lip height, thickness of lips and horizontal head circumference were negatively correlated with the age. With the age growing, morphological facial index and vertical cephalo-facial index was ascending. Moreover, length-height index of head, transverse frontoparietal index, zygomatico-frontal index and lip index were declining.

CONCLUSIONWith the age growing, the head and face measurements, physical indices and the proportion of observed indices have changed in Hakka in Guangdong province.