Pattern of Earlobe Attachment among Igbo Ethnic Group of Nigeria
Nicholas Asiwe *
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Faustina Chiamaka Irozulike
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Patrick Leo Filima
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Masterson Sampson Wedeh
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Bariereyiga Nadum Yirate
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: The earlobe is the fleshy lower region of the outer ear that lacks cartilage and is firmly attached to the side of the face. Every individual either has an attached or unattached pattern of earlobe attachments. The study aims to evaluate the prevalence pattern of earlobe attachment among the Igbo ethnic group of Nigeria.
Methods: 384 respondents (192 males and 192 females) were involved in the study and adopted an observational research design where multi-stage random sampling was used. A questionnaire was administered and retrieved. The data obtained were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 26 and chi-square was used as inferential statistics.
Results: 57.8% of the male population have an unattached earlobe pattern and 42.2% have attached earlobe patterns. In comparison, 51.6% of the female population had an attached pattern of the earlobe, whereas only 48.4% had an unattached pattern of the earlobe. The association between earlobe pattern and gender revealed no gender difference.
Conclusion: The unattached pattern of earlobe attachment is predominant among males and an attached pattern of the earlobe is predominant among females of the Igbo ethnic group of Nigeria.
Keywords: Earlobe attachment, Nigeria, unattached pattern, Igbo, attached