ESTIMATION OF SEX AND AGE THROUGH THE TRANSVERSE INDEX IN DRY ADULT SKULLS

Abstract

Introduction - Forensic Dentistry has great importance in the identification process, especially when professionals receive only the cephalic  portion of the body for analysis. The purpose of this study is to assess sexual dimorphism and age estimation using the  Transverse Cranial Index. Materials and methods - We studied a sample of 160 dry skulls, 80 males and 80 females, who belonged to individuals over the age of 20 years, and with age and sex known with absolute certainty. The studied skulls belonged to people whose relatives had not claimed their remains in the time established by the Cemetery administration and they were being sent for cremation. The following measurements were carried out:  the distance between the basion and bregma (maximum cranial height) and the distance between the eurio and eurio (maximum cranial width) and from these we calculated the Transverse Index. Results - According to statistical analysis, there was a success rate of 81.5% by logistic regression and 76.25% with discriminant analysis. The results were verified and the confidence interval was average throughout the test. The method of multiple linear regression used to predict the age was used, noting that the model was not significant (p = 0.3223). Conclusions - The results allowed the development of statistical methodology for the diagnosis of sex and age on future observations.