Dejen Fantaw*, SN Jadhav and Alemayehu Shiferaw
Background: Stature refers to a person's height from crown to heel length. Every person is identified by different biometric criteria such as face recognition, fingerprints, Iris patterns, etc., but identification in a dead body can rely on different identification features such as age, sex, stature and other identification marks, with stature being the most distinguishing feature of identification. Identifying an individual from mutilated, decomposed and amputated body fragments has become increasingly important in recent years as a result of natural disasters (such as earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones and floods) and man-made disasters (such as terror attacks, bomb blasts, wars and plane crashes). Objective: To predict stature from arm and forearm length in the age group of 18 to 25 years of Addis Ababa population, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Materials and methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, prospective study was conducted to estimate stature from arm and forearm length in the age group of 18 to 25 years of Addis Ababa population. Participants were selected randomly. Data was entered and analyzed with SPSS version 23. A simple linear regression model was computed to estimate stature from arm and forearm length.
Result: A total of 300 individuals with equal male-to-female proportion, 150 males and 150 females were taken as participants in this study. Height ranged from a minimum of 147.5 cm to a maximum of 188 cm, with a mean and standard deviation of 165.26 ± 7.36. For the total participants, the equations derived from arm length were: Stature=23.144 ± 4.212 (right arm length), R-value of 0.884, stature=22.104 ± 4.238 (left arm length), R-value of 0.886. For male, stature=42.352 ± 3.693 (right arm length), R-value of 0.827 and stature=42.224 ± 3.693 (left arm length), R-value of 0.830. For female, stature=55.705 ± 3.182 (right arm length), R-value of 0.790 and stature=54.040 ± 3.228 (left arm length), R-value of 0.796. Using forearm length, for total participants, stature=5.407 ± 5.862 (right forearm length), R-value of 0.884 and stature=6.175 ± 5.825 (left forearm length), R-value of 0.877. For male, stature=27.426 ± 5.112 (right forearm length), R-value of 0.839 and stature=28.521 ± 5.068 (left forearm length), R-value of 0.840. For female, stature=39.698 ± 4.533(right forearm length), R-value of 0.737 and stature=44.214 ± 4.353 (left forearm length), R-value of 0.717.
Conclusion: There is a notable and statistically significant correlation between stature and both arm and forearm lengths across genders and on both sides of the body
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