Pininski Melissa, Brits Desiré
School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa.
Forensic Sci Int. 2014 Jan;234:182.e1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2013.08.030. Epub 2013 Sep 8.
The accurate estimation of stature can meaningfully contribute to the positive identification of skeletal remains of unknown individuals. Regression equations are most commonly used to estimate stature and have been derived from numerous bones. Little is however known about stature estimation from the sacrum and therefore the aim of the current study was to evaluate whether it is possible to estimate stature from various sacral measurements in South African populations. A total of 210 sacra representing 50 black males, 51 white males, 58 black females and 51 white females were measured. These measurements included anterior sacral height, anterior sacral width, maximum transverse diameter of the base, anterior sacral height of individual sacral segments (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5) as well as combinations of anterior sacral heights of segments, (i.e. S1+S2). The correlation of these measures to stature was calculated using Pearson's correlation coefficient, followed by the calculation of linear least square and multiple regression equations for the estimation of stature. Statistical analyses indicated differences between sexes and population groups with multiple regressions being slightly more accurate than regression equations derived from single variables. Standard error of estimate values for the present study fall within the ranges stated by previous researchers, with smaller stature estimation intervals reported for black South Africans and females. This study suggests that regression equations derived from the sacrum of South Africans can be used to calculate reasonable estimates of stature, in the absence of bones that yield more accurate results.
准确估计身高能够对未知个体骨骼遗骸的正面识别做出有意义的贡献。回归方程是最常用于估计身高的方法，并且已经从众多骨骼中推导得出。然而，关于从骶骨估计身高的情况却知之甚少，因此本研究的目的是评估是否有可能根据南非人群的各种骶骨测量值来估计身高。总共测量了210块骶骨，分别代表50名黑人男性、51名白人男性、58名黑人女性和51名白人女性。这些测量包括骶骨前高、骶骨前宽、基部最大横径、各个骶骨节段（S1、S2、S3、S4、S5）的骶骨前高以及节段骶骨前高的组合（即S1 + S2）。使用皮尔逊相关系数计算这些测量值与身高的相关性，随后计算用于估计身高的线性最小二乘法和多元回归方程。统计分析表明性别和人群组之间存在差异，多元回归比单变量推导的回归方程略为准确。本研究的估计标准误差值落在先前研究人员所述的范围内，南非黑人及女性的身高估计区间较小。这项研究表明，在没有能得出更准确结果的骨骼的情况下，从南非人骶骨推导的回归方程可用于合理估计身高。
