Estimating Height and Sex from Shoulder Width and Arm Length

Objective Identification is important in forensic medical applications. In events with or without mortality, determining the height and sex of individuals is also a part of identification. In this study, it was aimed to develop methods for estimating height and sex from shoulder width and arm length. Materials and Methods One hundred and fifty volunteers were included in the study. In addition to the demographic data of the participants, height, bilateral arm lengths and shoulder width measurements were recorded in the data collection form. Data were evaluated with SPSS statistical program. Correlation and regression analyses were performed. Whether there was a significant difference between the means of the right and left side measurements was tested with the t test. Results Seventy-five (50%) of the participants were female, 75 (50%) were male, and mean age was 26.3 years ± 5.8. The Aegean Region was the region where the majority of the participants lived the longest, both in the place of birth and in the process of completing their bone development. The measurement with the strongest correlation with height is the arm span measurement when the sex is known or unknown, the correlation coefficient between the left side arm length measurements and the height is higher than that of the right, and therefore, if both side measurement results are available, only left side measurements can be measured. It was evaluated that it would be appropriate to use it in estimating the length of the shoulder, the correlation between shoulder width and sex was the strongest, and the formula used together with the left arm length and shoulder width gave the highest rate of correct (89.3%) results. Conclusion It was determined that the strongest correlation with height was the model in which left arm length and shoulder width measurements were used together (R = 0.887). Accordingly, height estimation formula, if sex is unknown, is as such: Height = 51.95+(1.61 x left arm length + 0.589 x shoulder width) (SEE:4.35), and in cases where the sex is known, it is Height = 63.49+(1.49 x left arm length + 0.50 x shoulder width) (SEE:3.89) form males and Height = 79.75+(1.48 x left arm length) (SEE:4.58) for females.