Department of Forensic Evidence Science, School of Forensic Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Guangdong Public Security Department, Guangzhou, China.
Forensic Sci Int. 2024 Jan;354:111912. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2023.111912. Epub 2023 Dec 9.
Objective assessment of cardiac hypertrophy in forensic pathology practice is of great significance for forensic pathologists, for whom reference values for normal heart weights are needed. Developed regions such as Europe, the United States, and Japan recalculate the weight of human organs at regular intervals, but in China, there has been no systematic calculation of the weights of human organs since 2006.
To statistically analyse the heart weight of Chinese adults postmortem and obtain a reference range.
4170 adult autopsy reports were collected from 12 forensic departments in 10 provinces in China. The causes of death were classified by sex, and heart weight and the heart weight/body height ratio reference values were further calculated according to different body mass index and body heights. Finally, the cutoff value of cardiac hypertrophy in Chinese adults was calculated.
In the group of non-cardiovascular disease causes of death, the cardiac weight of the electric death group was higher, while the heart weight of the prolonged bed-rest group was significantly reduced. After the electric death and prolonged bed-rest groups were excluded, heart weight, the heart weight/body height ratio, and cutoff values for cardiac hypertrophy were further classified and analysed according to body mass index. The mean reference values for heart weight in men and women with normal weight status were 325.82 ± 41.60 g and 286.39 ± 44.84 g, and the heart weight/body height ratios were 1.95 ± 0.23 in men and 1.82 ± 0.27, respectively. The cutoff values for cardiac hypertrophy were 387.35 g for men and 346.80 g for women.
The heart weight reference values of both sexes in this study were significantly higher than those in 2006, which is considered related to the development of China's economy and the improvement of people's living standards. This study also suggests the need for a new round of statistical surveys and updated data on the weight of other organs.
客观评估法医病理学实践中的心脏肥大对法医具有重要意义，他们需要参考正常心脏重量的正常值。欧洲、美国和日本等发达地区会定期重新计算人体器官的重量，但自 2006 年以来，中国还没有对人体器官的重量进行系统计算。
对中国成年人的死后心脏重量进行统计学分析，并获得参考范围。
收集来自中国 10 个省 12 个法医部门的 4170 例成人尸检报告。按性别对死因进行分类，根据不同的体重指数和身高进一步计算心脏重量和心脏重量/身高比参考值，最后计算中国成年人心脏肥大的截止值。
在非心血管疾病死亡组中，电击组的心脏重量较高，而长期卧床组的心脏重量显著降低。排除电击和长期卧床组后，根据体重指数进一步分类和分析心脏重量、心脏重量/身高比和心脏肥大的截止值。正常体重状态下男性和女性的心脏重量参考值分别为 325.82±41.60g 和 286.39±44.84g，心脏重量/身高比分别为 1.95±0.23 和 1.82±0.27。男性心脏肥大的截止值为 387.35g，女性为 346.80g。
本研究中男女的心脏重量参考值明显高于 2006 年，这被认为与中国经济的发展和人民生活水平的提高有关。本研究还表明需要进行新一轮的统计调查，更新其他器官重量的数据。
