A Model for the Estimation of Personal Stature from the Length of Forearm

Abstract

SUMMARY:Prediction of stature from incomplete and decomposing skeletal remains is vital in establishing the identity of an unknown individual. It has been stated that a variety of factors such as race, gender and nutrition play an important role in determining the height of an individual. Estimation of stature from measurements of various long bones has been achieved with varying degree of accuracy. Those studies resulted in establishing different formulae for the estimation of stature for the respective populations. However, evidence shows that there is a great void in such norms for Sri Lankans. Hence, this study was designed to investigate the relationship and to propose a gender and age specific linear regression models between the ulna length and height of an individual. A total of 258 subjects with an age span of 20-23 years were included in the study. The ulna length was measured using a digital sliding caliper capable of measuring to the nearest 0.01 mm. The height of the individual was measured standing erect, in anatomical position using a standing height measuring instrument. The findings of the study indicated significant differences of the ulna length between the genders. A positive correlation between height and ulna length was observed in both sexes and it was statistically significant. Regression equations for stature estimation were formulated using the ulna lengths for both males and females. The ulna length provides an accurate and reliable means in estimating the height of an individual. The regression formulae proposed in this study will be useful for clinicians, anatomists, archeologists, anthropologists and forensic scientists when such evidence provides the investigator the only opportunity to gauge that aspect of an individual's physical description.

Estimation of Stature from Percutaneous Length of Ulna and Tibia in Medical Students of Nagaland

“…In such situations, stature estimation from the parts of the body available can prove to be vital in narrowing down the investigation to a limited number of individuals [3]. Many studies [2,3,[5][6][7][8] have shown correlation of stature and different body parts dimension particularly long limb bones which has been found to be true in the present study with strong positive correlation between stature, and ulna and tibial lengths in both the sexes. Our male study subjects had a mean stature of 168.12± 5.48 cms, which was comparable to that of Bhavna and Nath S [5] who found that the male Shia Muslims of Delhi had a mean stature of 167.66±5.69 cms.…”

“…Also Gaur R et al [3] found the mean stature of Scheduled castes male population of Haryana as 167.21±5.01 cms which was close to the present findings. Mean stature of females was 157±5.4 which was similar with those of Sri Lankans [8] and Nepalese women [18].…”

“…Maring tribe of Manipur [2], Scheduled caste female population of Haryana [3], Oriya population [15] and Burdwan population of West Bengal [16] were shorter than the present study population whereas Sri Lankan males [8], Turkish [10], Maharashtran population [14], Nigerian [17] and Kurdish females [19] were taller than the present group. Oriya population [15] shorter stature may be due to the inclusion of elderly age groups upto 80 years as study has shown reduction of stature after the age of 50 years [20] due to the degeneration of spine, loss of intervertebral tissue and loss of BMD.…”

“…= Standard Error of Estimate. [ Table 6] [2] 0.863 Bhavna & Nath S [5] 0.765 Mohanty NK [15] 0.951 0.939 Trivedi A et al [21] 0.434 0.601 Ilayperuma I et al [8] 0.66 0.76 Prasad A et al [14] 0.65 0.6 Duyar I et al [10] 0.601 0.802 Present study 0.692 0.787 0.740 0.843…”

“…Therefore, any study pertaining to stature estimation need to be a population and sex specific study. [2,3,[5][6][7][8][9] In this study, we have measured the percutaneous length of ulna and tibia as they are known to give strong correlation to body height. [10] Tibia is the medial bone of the leg and both its condyles and medial malleolus are visible and prominent and are easily accessible percutaneously.…”