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Mastoid Triangle for Sex Determination in Adult N igerian Population: A Validation Study
Author(s) -
Jaja Blessing N. R.,
Ajua Christiana O.,
Didia Blessing C.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12299
Subject(s) - sexing , mastoid process , discriminant function analysis , linear discriminant analysis , sexual dimorphism , population , sample (material) , mathematics , orthodontics , biology , statistics , anatomy , medicine , chemistry , zoology , environmental health , chromatography
In the quest for a simple, reliable technique to estimate the sex of human remains several novel metric skeletal indices have been reported. Only a few have been examined for utility in populations different from those in which they were developed. In this study, the mastoid process was evaluated for sex determination using 102 lateral cephalograms of a N igerian sample of known age and sex. The asterion‐mastoidale distance and mastoid triangular area were sexually dimorphic with mean values higher in males compared with females ( p = 0.02). On analysis of the discriminant function, overall accuracy for sex classification was 55%. On cross‐validation, the triangular area accurately identified 80% of females and 48% of males. The asterion‐mastoidale distance was slightly more accurate at sexing the sample. The practical utility of the mastoid triangle area technique to differentiate sex in N igerian populations is not supported by the results of this study.