{"title":"Prediction of chronological age and its applications in forensic casework: methods, current practices, and future perspectives.","authors":"Mie Rath Refn, Marie-Louise Kampmann, Niels Morling, Jacob Tfelt-Hansen, Claus Børsting, Vania Pereira","doi":"10.1093/fsr/owad021","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Estimating an individual's age can be relevant in several areas primarily related to the clinical and forensic fields. In the latter, estimation of an individual's chronological age from biological material left by the perpetrator at a crime scene may provide helpful information for police investigation. Estimation of age is also beneficial in immigration cases, where age can affect the person's protection status under the law, or in disaster victim identification to narrow the list of potential missing persons. In the last decade, research has focused on establishing new approaches for age prediction in the forensic field. From the first forensic age estimations based on morphological inspections of macroscopic changes in bone and teeth, the focus has shifted to molecular methods for age estimation. These methods allow the use of samples from human biological material that does not contain morphological age features and can, in theory, be investigated in traces containing only small amounts of biological material. Molecular methods involving DNA analyses are the primary choice and estimation of DNA methylation levels at specific sites in the genome is the most promising tool. This review aims to provide an overview of the status of forensic age prediction using molecular methods, with particular focus in DNA methylation. The frequent challenges that impact forensic age prediction model development will be addressed, together with the importance of validation efforts within the forensic community.</p>","PeriodicalId":45852,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Sciences Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10445583/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Forensic Sciences Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/fsr/owad021","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/6/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"MEDICINE, LEGAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Estimating an individual's age can be relevant in several areas primarily related to the clinical and forensic fields. In the latter, estimation of an individual's chronological age from biological material left by the perpetrator at a crime scene may provide helpful information for police investigation. Estimation of age is also beneficial in immigration cases, where age can affect the person's protection status under the law, or in disaster victim identification to narrow the list of potential missing persons. In the last decade, research has focused on establishing new approaches for age prediction in the forensic field. From the first forensic age estimations based on morphological inspections of macroscopic changes in bone and teeth, the focus has shifted to molecular methods for age estimation. These methods allow the use of samples from human biological material that does not contain morphological age features and can, in theory, be investigated in traces containing only small amounts of biological material. Molecular methods involving DNA analyses are the primary choice and estimation of DNA methylation levels at specific sites in the genome is the most promising tool. This review aims to provide an overview of the status of forensic age prediction using molecular methods, with particular focus in DNA methylation. The frequent challenges that impact forensic age prediction model development will be addressed, together with the importance of validation efforts within the forensic community.
估算一个人的年龄主要与临床和法医领域有关。在法医领域,从犯罪者在犯罪现场留下的生物材料中估算出个人的实际年龄可为警方调查提供有用信息。在移民案件中,年龄会影响个人的法律保护地位,因此年龄估算也很有帮助;在灾害受害者身份鉴定中,年龄估算也有助于缩小潜在失踪人员名单的范围。在过去的十年中,研究的重点是在法医领域建立新的年龄预测方法。从最初基于骨骼和牙齿宏观变化的形态学检查进行法医年龄估计,到现在的重点已转移到分子年龄估计方法上。这些方法可以使用不含形态学年龄特征的人体生物材料样本,理论上可以对仅含少量生物材料的痕迹进行调查。涉及 DNA 分析的分子方法是主要选择,而估算基因组特定位点的 DNA 甲基化水平是最有前途的工具。本综述旨在概述使用分子方法进行法医年龄预测的现状,尤其侧重于 DNA 甲基化。将讨论影响法医年龄预测模型开发的常见挑战,以及在法医界进行验证工作的重要性。