Albert A M, Maples W R
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, USA.
J Forensic Sci. 1995 Jul;40(4):623-33.
Many current methods of age determination available to forensic anthropologists are limiting in that the age ranges provided are often broad, particularly for individuals in their late teens to early 20's. This study introduces an improved method for aging teenagers and young adults. The pattern and stages of union of the superior and inferior epiphyses of the vertebral centra (or ring epiphyses) were examined in 55 individuals, females and males, black and white, between ages 11 and 32 years. Vertebral ring epiphyseal union was found to be a good predictor of age. The correlation between stages of union and known age was 0.78 (P < .0001). The standard deviation was 2.566 years at the 99.9% confidence level. Sex differences were observed, but were not statistically significant. A larger sample size may perhaps demonstrate statistically significant differences in sex, and may or may not yield differences in race. A preliminary interobserver bias test showed high replicability. Results of this study compare favorably with results of other aging studies. Current age information for the progress of vertebral ring epiphyseal union is supplied for young males--and for the first time--females. This improved aging method provides necessary corroborative information for use with observations from other skeletal age indicators. Data collected from epiphyseal union of the vertebral centra aid in lessening the gap for early adult age determination.
法医人类学家目前可用的许多年龄判定方法存在局限性，因为所提供的年龄范围往往很宽泛，尤其是对于十几岁后期到20岁出头的个体。本研究介绍了一种用于青少年和青年年龄判定的改进方法。对55名年龄在11至32岁之间的个体（包括男性和女性、黑人和白人）的椎体中心（或环状骨骺）上下骨骺联合的模式和阶段进行了检查。发现椎体环状骨骺联合是年龄的良好预测指标。联合阶段与已知年龄之间的相关性为0.78（P <.0001）。在99.9%置信水平下，标准差为2.566岁。观察到了性别差异，但无统计学意义。更大的样本量可能会显示出性别上具有统计学意义的差异，种族方面可能有差异，也可能没有差异。一项初步的观察者间偏差测试显示出高重复性。本研究结果与其他年龄判定研究的结果相比具有优势。首次提供了年轻男性以及女性椎体环状骨骺联合进展的当前年龄信息。这种改进的年龄判定方法为与其他骨骼年龄指标的观察结果结合使用提供了必要的佐证信息。从椎体中心骨骺联合收集的数据有助于缩小早期成年人年龄判定的差距。
