Sex estimation and sexual dimorphism analysis through hand anthropometry: Insights from a cross-sectional study

One crucial aspect of a forensic procedure is sex estimation during individual identification. Hand and its remains are usually among the common body parts found in scenes of mass disasters during forensic investigations. Hand outlines are also important in several biomedical fields such as prosthet...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: M.O. Suleiman, B. Danborno, S.A. Musa, J.A. Timbuak, A.O. Yusuf, H.O. Suleiman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Forensic Science International: Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000239
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846115745130348544
author M.O. Suleiman
B. Danborno
S.A. Musa
J.A. Timbuak
A.O. Yusuf
H.O. Suleiman
author_facet M.O. Suleiman
B. Danborno
S.A. Musa
J.A. Timbuak
A.O. Yusuf
H.O. Suleiman
author_sort M.O. Suleiman
collection DOAJ
description One crucial aspect of a forensic procedure is sex estimation during individual identification. Hand and its remains are usually among the common body parts found in scenes of mass disasters during forensic investigations. Hand outlines are also important in several biomedical fields such as prosthetics, plastic surgery, and ergonomics. This cross-sectional study was done to investigate sexual dimorphism and discriminate sex using hand and hand print dimensions of 283 male and 317 female subjects who were randomly selected. Bare hand measurement and bilateral hand prints were obtained using Vernier caliper, inked pad, and A4 plain paper. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0 IBM. Sexual dimorphism in all the hand dimensions and prints of both hands were observed. The binary logistic regression model showed that in the left hand, bare left-hand breadth (BLHB) was the single best variable to discriminate sex with a percentage accuracy of 69.5 %. Bare right-hand breadth (BRHB) was the best predictor in the right hand with a percentage accuracy of 71.8 %. The predicted probabilities of the binary logistic model (BLR) for the variables that contributed best to the prediction were analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. It was observed that the BLHB and BRHB had the highest area under the curve (above 0.5) in the hand and print variables respectively. Sexual dimorphism and sex determination were established in this study using hand dimensions and prints. The BLHB and BRHB were the best sex determinants in this study. Although the accuracies of sex estimation from both hands in this study are low, it does confirm and support previous reports of handbreadth being the best variable for sex estimation.
format Article
id doaj-art-d72655fef9ff4abd9b33c42ee87e6e53
institution Kabale University
issn 2665-9107
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Forensic Science International: Reports
spelling doaj-art-d72655fef9ff4abd9b33c42ee87e6e532024-12-19T11:00:26ZengElsevierForensic Science International: Reports2665-91072024-12-0110100374Sex estimation and sexual dimorphism analysis through hand anthropometry: Insights from a cross-sectional studyM.O. Suleiman0B. Danborno1S.A. Musa2J.A. Timbuak3A.O. Yusuf4H.O. Suleiman5Department of Human Anatomy, Federal University Dutse, Jigawa, Nigeria; Corresponding author.Department of Human Anatomy, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, NigeriaDepartment of Human Anatomy, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, NigeriaDepartment of Anatomy, Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano, NigeriaDepartment of Anatomy, Kogi State University, Anyigba, NigeriaDepartment of Physiology, Kogi State University, Anyigba, NigeriaOne crucial aspect of a forensic procedure is sex estimation during individual identification. Hand and its remains are usually among the common body parts found in scenes of mass disasters during forensic investigations. Hand outlines are also important in several biomedical fields such as prosthetics, plastic surgery, and ergonomics. This cross-sectional study was done to investigate sexual dimorphism and discriminate sex using hand and hand print dimensions of 283 male and 317 female subjects who were randomly selected. Bare hand measurement and bilateral hand prints were obtained using Vernier caliper, inked pad, and A4 plain paper. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0 IBM. Sexual dimorphism in all the hand dimensions and prints of both hands were observed. The binary logistic regression model showed that in the left hand, bare left-hand breadth (BLHB) was the single best variable to discriminate sex with a percentage accuracy of 69.5 %. Bare right-hand breadth (BRHB) was the best predictor in the right hand with a percentage accuracy of 71.8 %. The predicted probabilities of the binary logistic model (BLR) for the variables that contributed best to the prediction were analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. It was observed that the BLHB and BRHB had the highest area under the curve (above 0.5) in the hand and print variables respectively. Sexual dimorphism and sex determination were established in this study using hand dimensions and prints. The BLHB and BRHB were the best sex determinants in this study. Although the accuracies of sex estimation from both hands in this study are low, it does confirm and support previous reports of handbreadth being the best variable for sex estimation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000239HandprintBare handSex estimationSexual dimorphismHand anthropometryForensic anthropology
spellingShingle M.O. Suleiman
B. Danborno
S.A. Musa
J.A. Timbuak
A.O. Yusuf
H.O. Suleiman
Sex estimation and sexual dimorphism analysis through hand anthropometry: Insights from a cross-sectional study
Forensic Science International: Reports
Handprint
Bare hand
Sex estimation
Sexual dimorphism
Hand anthropometry
Forensic anthropology
title Sex estimation and sexual dimorphism analysis through hand anthropometry: Insights from a cross-sectional study
title_full Sex estimation and sexual dimorphism analysis through hand anthropometry: Insights from a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Sex estimation and sexual dimorphism analysis through hand anthropometry: Insights from a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Sex estimation and sexual dimorphism analysis through hand anthropometry: Insights from a cross-sectional study
title_short Sex estimation and sexual dimorphism analysis through hand anthropometry: Insights from a cross-sectional study
title_sort sex estimation and sexual dimorphism analysis through hand anthropometry insights from a cross sectional study
topic Handprint
Bare hand
Sex estimation
Sexual dimorphism
Hand anthropometry
Forensic anthropology
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000239
work_keys_str_mv AT mosuleiman sexestimationandsexualdimorphismanalysisthroughhandanthropometryinsightsfromacrosssectionalstudy
AT bdanborno sexestimationandsexualdimorphismanalysisthroughhandanthropometryinsightsfromacrosssectionalstudy
AT samusa sexestimationandsexualdimorphismanalysisthroughhandanthropometryinsightsfromacrosssectionalstudy
AT jatimbuak sexestimationandsexualdimorphismanalysisthroughhandanthropometryinsightsfromacrosssectionalstudy
AT aoyusuf sexestimationandsexualdimorphismanalysisthroughhandanthropometryinsightsfromacrosssectionalstudy
AT hosuleiman sexestimationandsexualdimorphismanalysisthroughhandanthropometryinsightsfromacrosssectionalstudy