Objectives: To test the hypothesis that unaffected parents with nonsyndromic bilateral cleft lip and palate children possess greater levels of dermatoglyphic asymmetry than the normal population and to test for the difference in the distribution of pattern types. Design: Case-control study. Setting: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Participants: Forty-five unaffected parents (45 men and 45 women) of children with nonfamilial bilateral cleft lip and palate anomaly were enlisted. A control group of 45 unaffected parents with at least two unaffected children and no prior family history of clefting were also simultaneously selected. Main Outcome Measures: Palm prints and fingerprints were taken from each participant, and total ridge counts, atd angles, and pattern types were determined. For each of the three dermatoglyphic measures, asymmetry scores between right and left hands were defined, and then asymmetry scores of unaffected parents and pattern types were compared statistically with the controls, using Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests. Results: In contrast to total ridge count asymmetry, the asymmetry of atd angles in unaffected parents and the asymmetry of patterns (in unaffected mothers) were significantly higher in comparison with the controls. Furthermore, unaffected fathers had significantly more arches than the controls, but there were no significant differences in dermatoglyphic patterns of unaffected mothers and the controls. Conclusion: The findings suggest that an increase in the asymmetry of atd angles and pattern types in parents of sporadically affected children may reflect more the genetic base of this congenital malformation. Keywords: asymmetry, cleft, dermatoglyphics, parents

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