Estimation of stature from the upper limb measurements of Sudanese adults

Abstract

The estimation of stature using different parts of the body is crucial for formulating a biological profile during the process of personal identification, especially when mutilated and amputated limbs or body parts are found. Hand anthropometry has been reported in the literature including limited range of populations to be promising for stature prediction, but few studies have attempted to link upper limb anthropometry to stature. No previous research on this topic has been reported for modern Sudanese adults. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the upper limb dimensions and stature in Sudanese adults and to develop regression formulae to estimate stature from these dimensions. The stature, upper arm length, ulnar length, wrist breadth, hand length, and hand breadth of 200 right-handed subjects, comprising 100 males and 100 females (aged 25–30 years), were measured. Initially, the data were analyzed using basic univariate analysis and independent t-tests; then sex-specific simple and multiple linear regression models were used to estimate stature. The results indicated significant sexual dimorphism for all measurements. There was a positive correlation between upper limb measurements and stature (p<0.01), which was highest for ulnar length. The accuracy of stature prediction ranged from ±3.54 to 5.85cm. The use of multiple regression equations gave better results than simple regression equations. This study provides new forensic standards for stature estimation from the upper limb measurements of Sudanese adults.