Second and third lumbar vertebral parameters for prediction of sex, height, and age in the Iranian population.

In this study, we aimed to assess the association between different parameters of the second and third lumbar vertebra with age, sex, and height in the Iranian population. A total of 14 parameters of the L2 and L3 vertebra were measured from three-dimensional lumbar topography. The measured parameters included vertebral length, foramen diameter, foramen width, endplate depth, endplate width, spinal process height, spinal process length, transverse process distance, the height of the vertebral body, articular process height inferior, articular process height superior, pedicle height, pedicle width, and maximum distance between articular processes. A total of 100 patients, including 46 males (46%) and 54 females (54%), were enrolled in this study. Our findings showed that most L2 and L3 parameters could differentiate males from females, with the area under the curve between 0.620 and 0.888. The majority of L2 and L3 parameters were positively associated with height in both males and females. Regarding age, there was a significant positive association between the spinal process length of L2 and vertebral length, spinal process height, and spinal process length of L3 with age in males. Also, several parameters of L2 and L3 were associated with age in females. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the parameters of the second and third lumbar vertebra could be valuable in the determination of the age, height, and sex of the Iranian population. Our results could have practical implications in forensic anthropology in serious events like earthquakes.