Sex Determination Using Craniometric Parameters: A Computed Tomography- Based Assessment

Öz

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of cranial measurements obtained from computed tomography (CT) scans in determining sex. Seven linear cranial parameters were assessed to investigate their individual and combined discriminative power in sex classification within an adult Turkish population. Methods: Adult individuals of known sex were retrospectively selected from cranial CT scans archived at a tertiary care hospital. Seven craniometric parameters—including maximum cranial length, naso-occipital length, cranial base length, basion–bregma length, bizygomatic width, biorbital width, and interorbital width—were measured using multiplanar reconstructed CT images. Sex-based comparisons were performed, and a quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA) was conducted to assess classification accuracy. Results: A total of 200 individuals (100 males and 100 females), aged between 20 and 75 years, were included in the study. All cranial measurements were significantly higher in males compared to females (p < 0.001 for all parameters except interorbital width, p = 0.047). The most prominent sex-based differences were observed in bizygomatic width (132.82 ± 5.00 mm in males vs. 124.06 ± 4.90 mm in females) and maximum cranial length (182.17 ± 7.42 mm vs. 171.51 ± 6.86 mm). The QDA model achieved an overall classification accuracy of 86%, with 83% accuracy in males and 89% in females. Interorbital width was the only parameter showing significant variation by age group (p = 0.002), while the remaining measurements were unaffected by age. Conclusion: Cranial parameters obtained from CT imaging demonstrated a classification accuracy of 86% in sex estimation within our sample, supporting their utility in forensic anthropological assessments. These findings reinforce the value of CT-based linear craniometric analysis as a non-invasive and reproducible approach, particularly in settings where advanced 3D or AI-based methods may not be feasible. Additionally, this study provides reference data specific to an adult Turkish cohort, contributing to population-specific standards in the literature.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Forensic anthropology
• craniometric analysis
• gender determination
• computed tomography
• Turkish population
• discriminant analysis

Etik Beyan

Ethical approval was obtained from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Gaziantep University Faculty of Medicine between 09/03/2022 and 04/01/2023 (Approval No: 2022/35).

Kraniyometrik Parametrelerle Cinsiyet Tayini: Bilgisayarlı Tomografi Temelli Bir Değerlendirme

Öz

Amaç: Bu çalışma, bilgisayarlı tomografi (BT) görüntülerinden elde edilen kraniyal ölçümlerin cinsiyet belirlemedeki etkinliğini değerlendirmeyi amaçlamıştır. Yedi lineer kraniyal parametre, erişkin Türk popülasyonunda cinsiyet sınıflandırmasındaki bireysel ve kombine ayırt edici güçleri açısından incelenmiştir. Yöntem: Cinsiyeti bilinen erişkin bireyler, üçüncü basamak bir hastanede arşivlenen kraniyal BT görüntülerinden retrospektif olarak seçildi. Maksimum kraniyal uzunluk, nazo-oksipital uzunluk, kraniyal taban uzunluğu, basion–bregma uzunluğu, bizigomatik genişlik, biorbital genişlik ve interorbital genişlik olmak üzere yedi kraniyometrik parametre, multiplanar rekonstrükte BT görüntüleri kullanılarak ölçüldü. Cinsiyete göre karşılaştırmalar yapıldı ve sınıflandırma doğruluğunu değerlendirmek için kuadratik diskriminant analiz (QDA) uygulandı. Bulgular: Çalışmaya 20–75 yaş aralığında toplam 200 birey (100 erkek, 100 kadın) dahil edildi. Tüm kraniyal ölçümler, interorbital genişlik dışında (p = 0.047), erkeklerde kadınlara göre anlamlı derecede daha yüksek bulundu (tüm diğer parametreler için p < 0.001). Cinsiyetler arası en belirgin farklar, bizigomatik genişlik (erkeklerde 132.82 ± 5.00 mm, kadınlarda 124.06 ± 4.90 mm) ve maksimum kraniyal uzunluk (erkeklerde 182.17 ± 7.42 mm, kadınlarda 171.51 ± 6.86 mm) parametrelerinde gözlendi. QDA modeli, erkeklerde %83 ve kadınlarda %89 doğruluk ile toplamda %86 sınıflandırma doğruluğu sağladı. İnterorbital genişlik yaş gruplarına göre anlamlı farklılık gösteren tek parametreydi (p = 0.002), diğer ölçümler yaşa göre etkilenmedi. Sonuç: BT görüntülemelerinden elde edilen kraniyal parametreler, örneklemimizde %86 doğrulukla biyolojik cinsiyet tahmini sağlamış ve adli antropolojik değerlendirmelerde kullanılabilirliğini ortaya koymuştur. Bu bulgular, BT tabanlı lineer kraniyometrik analizlerin, özellikle ileri düzey 3D veya yapay zekâ temelli yöntemlerin uygulanmasının mümkün olmadığı durumlarda, invaziv olmayan ve tekrarlanabilir bir yaklaşım olarak değerini pekiştirmektedir. Ayrıca, bu çalışma erişkin Türk popülasyonuna özgü referans veriler sunarak literatüre populasyon-spesifik standartlar açısından katkıda bulunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• adli antropoloji
• kraniyometrik analiz
• cinsiyet tayini
• bilgisayarlı tomografi
• Türk popülasyonu
• diskriminant analiz

Kaynakça

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