Krishan Kewal, Kanchan Tanuj, Passi Neelam, DiMaggio John A
Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India.
Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Kasturba Medical College (Affiliated to Manipal University), Mangalore, India.
J Forensic Leg Med. 2015 Nov;36:96-101. doi: 10.1016/j.jflm.2015.09.007. Epub 2015 Sep 12.
Determination of sex along with other parameters of identification like stature, age and ancestry is one of the foremost criteria in establishing the biological profile of an individual. The present study was conducted to analyze the sex differences in the foot length ratios in a North Indian adolescent population. The study was conducted on 149 females and 154 males aged from 13 to 18 years. Foot length measurements were taken from pternion to the most anterior part of each toe and designated as T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 respectively for first to fifth toes on both the feet in each participant using standard methods and techniques. A total of ten ratios (T1:T2, T1:T3, T1:T4, T1:T5, T2:T3, T2:T4, T2:T5, T3:T4, T3:T5, and T4:T5) were thus, obtained and the same were analyzed for sex differences using Student's t-test. Stature was measured in each participant and Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated to find the correlation between various foot length ratios, age and stature. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was employed to test the sexing accuracy of the variables. P-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Foot length dimensions from each toe (T1 to T5) and stature were found to be significantly higher in males than females. The foot length ratios did not show any statistically significant correlation with stature. Statistically significant sex differences were exhibited by ratios between T1 and T2 (p = 0.002), T1 and T3 (p = 0.001), T1 and T4 (p < 0.001), T1 and T5 (p = 0.001), and T2 and T4 (p = 0.014). Maximum sex differences were evident for foot length ratio between T1 and T4 (63.4%), and minimum for the ratio between T2 and T4 (56.5%). Though foot length measurements are significantly larger in males, its utility in sex differentiation may be limited owing to its direct correlation with stature of an individual. It has been observed that the foot length ratios are independent of stature and thus, can be considered a better sex determinant since they are not influenced by the body built of an individual. Apart from ratio between T2 and T4, only the foot length ratios with reference to first toe (T1:T2, T1:T3, T1:T4, T1:T5) were found to exhibit significant sex-differences. The present research concludes that the foot length ratios exhibit sex differences in the study population. However, its utility in forensic investigations may be limited owing to the lower sexing accuracy of foot length ratios.
确定性别以及身高、年龄和血统等其他身份识别参数是建立个人生物学特征的首要标准之一。本研究旨在分析北印度青少年人群足长比例的性别差异。该研究对149名女性和154名年龄在13至18岁之间的男性进行。使用标准方法和技术，从枕外隆凸到每个参与者双脚上每个脚趾的最前端测量足长，并分别将双脚的第一至第五脚趾指定为T1、T2、T3、T4和T5。由此获得了总共十个比例（T1:T2、T1:T3、T1:T4、T1:T5、T2:T3、T2:T4、T2:T5、T3:T4、T3:T5和T4:T5），并使用学生t检验分析这些比例的性别差异。测量了每个参与者的身高，并计算了皮尔逊相关系数，以找出各种足长比例、年龄和身高之间的相关性。采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线来测试变量的性别鉴定准确性。P值小于0.05被认为具有统计学意义。发现每个脚趾（T1至T5）的足长尺寸和身高在男性中显著高于女性。足长比例与身高没有显示出任何统计学上的显著相关性。T1与T2之间的比例（p = 0.002）、T1与T3之间的比例（p = 0.001）、T1与T4之间的比例（p < 0.001）、T1与T5之间的比例（p = 0.001）以及T2与T4之间的比例（p = 0.014）表现出统计学上的显著性别差异。T1与T4之间的足长比例的性别差异最大（63.4%），T2与T4之间的比例最小（56.5%）。尽管男性的足长测量值明显更大，但由于其与个体身高的直接相关性，其在性别区分中的效用可能有限。据观察，足长比例与身高无关，因此，可以被认为是更好的性别决定因素，因为它们不受个体体型的影响。除了T2与T4之间的比例外，仅发现以第一趾为参照的足长比例（T1:T2、T1:T3、T1:T4、T1:T5）表现出显著的性别差异。本研究得出结论，在研究人群中足长比例存在性别差异。然而，由于足长比例的性别鉴定准确性较低，其在法医调查中的效用可能有限。
