A study on association and correlation of lip and finger print pattern analysis for gender identification

Abstract

Background: The lip print pattern is a unique among individuals and thus helps in the identification during the forensic investigation. Lip print analysis in the forensic scene may help in the personal identification. Thus, correlating the lip print with the finger print and gender will create a new room in forensic dentistry investigation. Aim: This study aims to identify the lip and finger print pattern and to correlate lip and finger print pattern for gender identification. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 students from dental institution were included in this study. Of which, 50 were male and 50 were female.. Their aged range between 18 and 28 years with a mean age of 21.3 years. The physiological rest position of the lip print was recorded by the application of red or dark pink colored lipstick over the lips and the imprint was transferred over a white chart sheet through a transparent tape. The imprint of the finger was taken directly on a white chart sheet. The lip and finger print pattern was examined with magnifying lens. The results were analyzed using SPSS software 19.0 (Armonk, NY, USA) and presented as a descriptive statistics. A correlation of lip print with finger print and gender variation was analyzed by Pearson correlation test. Results: The study identified higher prevalence of Type II (34%) lip print pattern in the overall study population. In males, Type I lip print (42%) and plain loop finger print pattern (44%) was frequent in the study. In males, the correlation of lip and finger print patter showed weaker correlation and statistically insignificant (P = 0.436). In females, Type II lip print (34%) and plain loop finger print pattern (42%) was frequent in the study. In females, the correlation of the lip and finger print pattern showed weaker correlation with approachable statistical significance (P = 0.083). The correlation of lip and finger print with gender showed weaker correlation and approachable significance (P = 0.07). The association of lip and finger print in the study showed statistically insignificant. However, the association of Type III lip print pattern with loop finger print pattern showed statistical significant association (P = 0.05) by Chi-square analysis. Conclusion: Lip print analysis is a challenging area in the personal identification during forensic dentistry examination. The study revealed the weaker correlation and approachable significance of lip and finger print pattern in gender identification. Future studies should be encouraged in the direction of software based identification for lip and finger print analysis in gender identification. Such studies may benefit this study pattern in more accurate way.