What percentage had cheek dimples?
118 of 1,462 people, or 8.1%, had cheek dimples in the Sullia study. Of those 118, 112 had cheek dimples only and six also had dimples elsewhere on the face. Another three people had chin dimples only.
That gives 121 people with any facial dimples, a slightly broader definition than cheek dimples. The two categories overlap and must not be added together. The definition selector makes that distinction explicit.
One cheek versus both cheeks
The researchers counted 86 people with a dimple on one cheek and 32 with dimples on both cheeks. Among all 1,462 people screened, those shares are 5.9% and 2.2%.
Among just the 118 people who had cheek dimples, the shares become 72.9% and 27.1%. Neither calculation is wrong; they answer different questions. Switch “Who is counted” above to see both views. A statement that “27% have bilateral dimples” needs to say that its denominator includes only people who already have cheek dimples.
Who was studied?
Chalathadka and colleagues screened people aged 15–35 in Sullia taluk, Karnataka, India, from December 2017 to December 2018. The study excluded people with some facial conditions, trauma or previous surgery. This age-limited regional sample does not establish the frequency among all ages, other countries or the world.
The article also counts individual dimples when discussing their position. That is a different unit: someone with dimples on both cheeks contributes two dimples but only one person. This explorer consistently uses people.
Can the study compare women and men?
It reports 108 women and thirteen men among its 121 facial-dimple cases. But the total numbers of women and men screened are not supplied. The share of cases who are women cannot be converted into the share of women who have dimples.
The complete CSV keeps counts, denominators and definitions together. Other trait references, such as fingerprint patterns and hair color, have their own study populations and cannot be multiplied together to calculate personal rarity.
Good questions
How rare are dimples on both cheeks?
The study found 32 people with dimples on both cheeks: 2.2% of all 1,462 people screened, or 27.1% of the 118 people with cheek dimples. The denominator changes the answer.
Are one-sided dimples rarer than dimples on both cheeks?
Not in this study. It counted 86 people with one-sided cheek dimples and 32 with dimples on both cheeks.
Are dimples more common in women?
This study does not supply the denominator needed to answer that. It reports 108 women among its 121 facial-dimple cases, but not the total number of women screened.