Prediction of stature from hand length and breadth – anthropometric study on an adult Cross River State population

Abstract

Introduction: Stature estimation occupies a relatively dominant position in anthropometric research. It is believed that standards for identifying skeleton differ from population to population and the method for one population may not be applicable for another population. Materials and Method: This study was carried out to determine the reliability of hand dimensions in estimating stature in an adult Cross River State population. The subjects comprised 1050 adult indigenes (540 male and 510 female) of Cross River State between the ages of 18 and 45 years drawn from the three senatorial districts South, Central, and North. Results: Stature in male had a mean value of 168.49 ± 5.53 cm whereas in females it was 162.99 ± 5.91 cm. Also, hand length in male subjects was 19.47 ± 2.00 cm while in females, hand length measured 18.35 ± 1.03 cm. In addition, the mean handbreadth in males was 8.47 ± 0.54 cm while in females, handbreadth was 7.91 ± 0.64 cm. Statistical analysis indicated that the difference in hand length and handbreadth between male and female was statistically significant ( P Conclusion: However, hand length was more reliable in estimating stature in both male and female subjects. These results will be of immense benefit to forensic studies and bioanthropology.