Philcox Winston, Garland Jack, Zaidi Faseeh, Morrow Paul, Kesha Kilak, Stables Simon, Wong Christopher X, Spark Amy, Tse Rexson
Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Hospital, Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia.
Department of Forensic Pathology, LabPLUS, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand.
Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2018 Sep;39(3):208-212. doi: 10.1097/PAF.0000000000000403.
Heart weight is dependent on sex, age, height, and weight. Although previous autopsy studies showed no differences in heart weight between different ethnic groups, none have examined the New Zealand population of Māori and Pacific Islanders (Polynesians). The presented study compared heart weights between 101 European and 85 Polynesian suicide hanging deaths from New Zealand. Univariate linear regression coefficients for age, male sex, height, body weight, body mass index, and Polynesian ethnicity were positive and significant (P < 0.05). Apart from body mass index, subsequent multivariate analysis showed that all regression coefficients remained positive and significant (P < 0.05). Polynesian ethnicity seemed to be an independent predictor for increased heart weight in the study population. Apart from possible genetic factors, the higher heart weight in Polynesians may have other underlying reasons. Caution is required when interpreting heart weight in cases of sudden natural deaths, especially in this population.
心脏重量取决于性别、年龄、身高和体重。尽管先前的尸检研究表明不同种族群体之间的心脏重量没有差异，但尚无研究对新西兰的毛利人和太平洋岛民（波利尼西亚人）群体进行过考察。本研究比较了来自新西兰的101例欧洲人和85例波利尼西亚人自杀缢死案例的心脏重量。年龄、男性性别、身高、体重、体重指数和波利尼西亚族裔的单变量线性回归系数均为正值且具有显著性（P < 0.05）。除体重指数外，随后的多变量分析表明，所有回归系数仍为正值且具有显著性（P < 0.05）。在研究人群中，波利尼西亚族裔似乎是心脏重量增加的一个独立预测因素。除了可能的遗传因素外，波利尼西亚人较高的心脏重量可能还有其他潜在原因。在解释突然自然死亡案例中的心脏重量时需要谨慎，尤其是在这个群体中。
