Estimation of sex by linear measurements and skull areas of Brazilian adults

Abstract

Introduction Forensic Physical Anthropology aims to seek the identity and identification of human beings, seeking information to estimate sex, age, ancestry, stature. To find such data, Forensic Physical Anthropology is divided into anthropometry (linear measurements, angles) and anthroposcopy. Objective: Sexual dimorphism was sought through the analysis of linear and area measurements in the skull, as well as to obtain a logistic regression model for the estimation of the sex of Brazilians. Methodology This is a cross-sectional observational study of dry skulls of an Osteological and Tomographic Biobank with sex, age, ancestry and known cause of death. The researcher was calibrated in 25 skulls, at three different moments, in these studies were 6 linear measurements and the sum of two areas. For the study, measurements of 175 skulls (n=100%) were measured, 96 males and 79 females. The data was tabulated in the Microsoft Office Excel program. For statistical analysis, the IBM program® SPSS® 25 Statistics was used. Kolmogorov-Smirnov and T-test tests were applied for data analysis and Stepwise-Forward logistic regression (Wald).  Results: It was observed that all measurements were dimorphic, and two variables were defined for the elaboration of the best model for sexual dimorphism, with a significant correlation with 70.3% accuracy. Conclusion: It is concluded that the quantitative method developed can be used to estimate sex as an auxiliary method.

Keywords: Forensic anthropology; Forensic dentistry; logistic models