Ear lobe crease: incidence in a healthy Malay population.

The incidence of ear lobe crease (ELC) was studied in 1576 healthy Malay subjects (566 males and 1010 females), randomly selected from the residents of Kota Bharu, Malaysia. ELC was present in 31.1% of males and in 3.6% of females; this difference in incidence between the two sexes is statistically significant (p > 0.05). In males the incidence of Type I crease was highest (10.1%) while that of Type III crease was lowest (2.3%). In females Type II crease showed the highest incidence (1.9%) and Type III the lowest. The incidence of bilateral presence of all three types of ELC showed an age-related increase in males. The ELC often starts unilaterally and later develops bilaterally and earlier in males than in females.