Estimation of sex from the upper limb measurements of Sudanese adults

Abstract

Sex estimation is the first biological attribute needed for personal identification from mutilated and amputated limbs or body parts in medical-legal autopsies. Populations have different sizes and proportions that affect the anthropometric assessment of sex. Relatively few published works assess the accuracy of sex estimation from soft tissue measurements of upper limb parts, except for the hand and its components, but these studies involve a limited range of global populations. The current study aimed to assess the degree of sexual dimorphism in upper limb measurements and the accuracy of using these measurements for sex estimation in a contemporary adult Sudanese population. The upper arm length, ulnar length, wrist breadth, hand length, and hand breadth of 240 right-handed Sudanese subjects (120 males and 120 females) aged between 25 and 30 years were measured by international anthropometric standards. Demarking points, sexual dimorphism indices and discriminant functions were developed from 200 subjects (100 males and 100 females) who composed the study group. All variables were sexually dimorphic. The ulnar length, wrist breadth and hand breadth significantly contributed to sex estimation. Forearm dimensions showed a higher accuracy for sex estimation than hand dimensions. Cross-validated sex classification accuracy ranged between 78.5% and 89.5%. The reliability of these standards was assessed in a test sample of 20 males and 20 females, and the results showed accuracy between 77.5% and 90%. This study provides new forensic standards for sex estimation from upper limb measurements of Sudanese adults.