Stature estimation based on footprint measurements of Malays in peninsular Malaysia by regression analysis

Abstract

Objective:To derive regression equations to estimate stature from footprint lengths of Malay ethnicsin peninsular Malaysia. Material and methods: The study was carried out in UniversitiSains Malaysia involving 400 adult Malay subjects (200 males and 200 females) who are staff and students. Informed consent and Human Ethical Approval were obtained. The heights of the individuals were recorded with portable height measuring device (SECA 208) and footprints were collected using inkless shoe print kit (Carolina, USA). The data obtained were analyzed with SPSS computer software and derived regression equations to estimate stature from footprint lengths of Malay ethnics in peninsular Malaysia. Results:Investigation revealed that all footprint lengths exhibit statistically positive significant correlation with stature (p<0.001). The mean stature is found to be significantly higher in males than females. All the footprint lengths in males are found to be larger than females both in left and right feet.The mean second toeheel footprint lengths in both left and right are found to be the longest both in males and females. Correlation coefficient (R) values are found to be higher in the pooled sample (0.740.78) when compared with males (0.430.51) and females (0.530.61). Conclusion: The result of this investigation provided population specific regression equations for stature estimation from footprints (complete and partial) of Malays in peninsular Malaysia. The regression equations derived for the pooled sample can be used to estimate stature when the sex of the footprints owner remains unknown, as in real crime scenarios.