The estimation of sex, age, and stature from the distal femoral cortical thickness

Abstract The estimation of sex, age, and stature from bones play an important role in identifying parts of bodies or skeletal remains. We aimed to explore femoral cortical thickness in relation to formulating predictive models for age, sex, and stature in a cross-section of the Ankara population using Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The study included left and right knee MRI images taken from individuals without trauma-related fractures, mass lesions, or deformities. The study sample comprised 108 subjects. Using the measurements of the femoral right anterior and posterior cortex and left medial cortex, sex could be determined with a mean 77.8% accuracy. When the relationship between age and male sex only was investigated with the correlation test, a strong relationship was seen between the right medial cortical thickness and age (r: 0.35; p: 0.00). No correlation was found between cortical thickness and age in the female group. All the information obtained about the effects of sex, age, and similar factors on the cross-sectional geometry of the long bones can be obtained indirectly on radiographs referring to any population.