Is there any association between direction of nasal deviation and hand
dominance in male adolescents?
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to investigate incidence of nostril
asymmetry and deviation of nasal bony pyramid and caudal septum and to
examine their association with dominant hand in male adolescents.
Methods: Totally 546 male healthy adolescents aged 15 to 17 years were
included. Each participant was examined for presence or absence of nasal
bone pyramidal deviation, caudal septal deviation, side of deviation,
and nostril asymmetry. The dominant hand was recorded. Results: Of
participants, 85 were aged 15 years, 291 were aged 16 years, and 168
were aged 17 years. Mean age was 16.148±0.667 years. Of all
participants, 91% (n=497) were right-handed and 9% (n=49) were
left-handed. Distribution of the dominant hand across age groups was
comparable (p=0.921). In case of deviation to the right, 61.2% (n=74)
were right-hand dominant, while 58.3% (n=7) of those with deviation to
the left were left-hand dominant. According to hand dominance and size
of nostrils, 92.1% (n=105) of those with a larger left nostril were
right-handed and 7.9% (n=9) were left-handed. Conclusions: Male
adolescents had a significant deviation of caudal septum to the right
side with smaller right nostrils. However, hand dominance and side of
deviation were not significantly associated with nasal bony pyramid and
caudal septum.