Forensic Age Estimation According to Fusion of Proximal Humeral Epiphysis in 1367 Living Turkish Subjects’ Radiographs; A Preliminary Study

Purpose: Precisely evaluation of bone age around and after 18years old has distinctive importance for legal issues in Turkey. Closure degree of proximal humeral epiphysis has significant value in this critical age group. We aimed to determine the age groups around this critical age among the male and females. Methods: Shoulder radiographs of 1367 living Turkish individuals including 590 males and 777 females between 14-20 ages were evaluated according to closure degree of epiphysis divided into four stages; fusion less than one-third of the proximal humeral epiphysis (stage 1), fusion more than one-third to less two-third (stage 2), fusion more than two-third (stage 3), and recently closed (stage 4). Results: Mean ages in females and males were 14.8 and 16.1 years for stage 1; 15.2 and 16.5 for stage 2; 16.2 and 17.5 for stage 3; 17.3 and 18.6 for stage 4, respectively. Minimum age for stage 4 was 15.6 in females and 17.0 in males. Maximum age for stage 4 was 18.5 in females and 19.6 in males. The mean ages between the age groups and gender were highly significant. Conclusion: Evaluation of closure degree of proximal humeral epiphysis has a crucial role to differentiate the gender and radiological bone age around legal age of 18 years.