Mental distances and relationship to body mass index in young healthy Nigerian adults: a population based study.

AIM: This study was conducted to determine normal ranges of sterno-mental distance (SMD) and thyromental distance (TMD) and to examine the relationship of these measurements to each other and the body mass index (BMI).

METHODS

The SMD, TMD and BMI were assessed in a total of 409 apparently healthy adult subjects comprising 218 male and 190 female participants who volunteered for the study. The parameters were measured by standard methods and the obtained data analysed for the degree of association using Pearson Correlation Statistics.

RESULTS

Mean values of SMD and TMD were significantly higher in males than in females. The BMI was statistically same in both sexes. Sterno-mental distance correlated positively with TMD in both sexes (r = 0.86, p = 0.005) while BMI correlated negatively with SMD (r = -0.166, p = 0.108) as well as to the TMD (r = -0.147, p = 0.04) in both sexes.

CONCLUSION

In young healthy adult populations the SMD and TMD are strongly related to each other but are unrelated to the BMI. Males tend to have on average longer SMD and TMD as compared to females. Our findings could be a useful tool during pre-anaesthetic airway assessment of patients.