Stature Estimation By Four Lateral Cephalometric Parameters: Study From A Sample Of Syrian Population

INTRODUCTION: Stature - height of a person - is one of the big four parameters that can help to identify the human remains in forensic anthropology. Many studies around the world have reported the correlation between stature and skull & mandible dimensions. Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of using four parameters related to facial and mandible dimensions taken from the lateral cephalometric image as indices for estimating height in the sample of Syrian population. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 150 persons (70 males and 80 females) of the reviewers of the Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dental medicine, Damascus University, with ages between 18 to 25 years old. The height of each person was measured in centimeters, and the four parameters was measured on the lateral cephalometric images obtained from the patients' review files by Digital Vernier Caliper of the company (Mitutoyo - Japan) with a ± 0.01 mm error. The data was dumped in an Excel 2013 file, and then statistically processedusing SPSS version 20, and the correlation between height and the lateral cephalometric parameters was tested by Karl Pearson correlation coefficient, then the linear regression equations were derived to estimate the height from each lateral cephalometric parameter independently, i.e.: Y = A + B ( X ). Results: Moderate significant correlation was observed between height and all lateral cephalometric parameters (p=0.000) & (R= .368 - .521). The linear regression equation using formula Y = a + bX was obtained for each parameter. Conclusion: This study concludes: all lateral cephalometric parameters tested in this study can be used as an additional tools aid to estimate stature in Syrian population when the bony remains are complete, and a basic tools aid to estimate the stature when there are incomplete bony remains contains only the skull & mandible bones.