Estimation of body height from percutaneous length of tibia in Debre Markos University students, North West Ethiopia

Introduction: Estimation of body height from measurement of various body parts is a particular interest to forensic scientists to complete biological profile after death. However, establishing the identity of an individual from mutilated, decomposed, and amputated body fragments has become a challenging task in medico-legal cases. Objective of the study: To estimate body height from percutaneous length of the tibia in Debre Markos University (DMU) students. Materials and methods: Institution-based cross-sectional prospective study was conducted in undergraduate students of DMU. The sample size was 572, and data were collected from April 2018 to December 2018. Height and percutaneous tibial length were measured in both sexes. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 25. Level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The mean age of study participants was 21.27 ± 1.74 years for males and 20.41 ± 1.58 years for females. The mean height of study participants was also 168.36 ± 5.89 cm for males and 165.24 ± 4.01 cm for females. The tibial length was strongly correlated with body height in the males than the females: right tibial length (males R = 0.634, females R = 0.259) and left tibial length (males R = 0.632, females R = 0.258). Independent t test exhibited statistically significant gender differences (P < 0.05) with the males having consistently higher values than the females. Paired t test revealed the existence of bilateral asymmetry between the right and left tibial lengths (P < 0.05). The relatively highest correlation was depicted in the right tibial length in both males and females. Conclusion: The mean value of height and tibial length was greater in males than that of females, and these differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Tibial length was significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with height in both sexes. Therefore, tibial length can predict body height in both sexes.