A study of widow’s peak hairline pattern among the urhobo ethnic group of Nigeria

Background: Hair morphology is one of the distinctive traits with human variations. The shape of the hairline may be curved or straight. The curved hairline has a presentation of a V shape, descending from middle of the head just above the forehead. This presentation can also be called a widow’s peak. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of widow’s peak among the Urhobo people, to investigate if there is a significant association between sex, age and the presentation of widow’s peak among the Urhobo People. Methods: The sample size for the study was made up of 400 subjects of Urhobo origin, comprising of 200 parents and 200 offspring (100 fathers, 100 mothers, 100 first offspring and 100 second offspring). Data was collected by means of a well detailed data sheet. P values lesser than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Results showed higher frequencies of subjects having straight hairline in both the parents, the first and the second offspring (71% versus 29% in fathers, 79% versus 21% in mothers, 66% versus 34% in first offspring, and 75% versus 25% in second offspring). There was no significant association between sex, age, and type of hairline presented (p>0.05). Conclusion: The straight hairline showed more prevalence among the Urhobo people. There was also no significant association between the age group of subjects and type of hairline. Furthermore, no significant association occurred between type of hairline in offspring and type of hairline presented in parents among the Urhobo people.