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Forensic age estimation in adults by pubic bone mineral density using multidetector computed tomography

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Abstract

Radiology plays a crucial role in forensic anthropology for age estimation. However, most studies rely on morphological methods. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using pubic bone mineral density (BMD) as a new age estimation method in the Chinese population. 468 pubic bone CT scans from living individuals in a Chinese hospital aged 18 to 87 years old were used to measure pubic BMD. The BMD of the bilateral pubic bone was measured using the Mimics software on cross-sectional CT images and the mean BMD of the bilateral pubic bone was also calculated. Regression analysis was performed to assess the correlation between pubic BMD and chronological age and to develop mathematical models for age estimation. We evaluated the accuracy of the best regression model using an independent validation sample by calculating the mean absolute error (MAE). Among all established models, the cubic regression model had the highest R2 value in both genders, with R2 = 0.550 for males and R2 = 0.634 for females. The results of the best model test showed that the MAE for predicting age using pubic BMD was 8.66 years in males and 7.69 years in females. This study highlights the potential of pubic BMD as a useful objective indicator for adult age estimation and could be used as an alternative in forensic practice when other better indicators are lacking.

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Data Availability

The data presented in this study are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81971801), the Open Fund Project of Shanghai Key Lab of Forensic Medicine and Key Lab of Forensic Science (No. KF202209), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2023SCU12037).

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Author notes

  1. Shuai Luo and Fei Fan contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Pathology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Shuai Luo, Fei Fan, Xing‑tao Zhang, Yu-shan Lin, Zi-qi Cheng, Zhen-hua Deng & Meng‑jun Zhan

  2. University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, Sichuan, China

    An-jie Liu

  3. Beidaihe Hospital, Hebei, 066100, Qinhuangdao, China

    Chang-xing Song & Jun-jing Wang

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  1. Shuai Luo
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Correspondence to Zhen-hua Deng or Meng‑jun Zhan.

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Luo, S., Fan, F., Zhang, X. et al. Forensic age estimation in adults by pubic bone mineral density using multidetector computed tomography. Int J Legal Med 137, 1527–1533 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-023-03067-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-023-03067-1

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