Stature Estimation from the Sacrum in a Thai Population

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to create equations for stature estimation using sacral lengths and to test the accuracy of the resulting equations in a Thai population. METHODS The sample included 200 Thai skeletons (100 males and 100 females) from the Forensic Osteology Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai. Seven sacral measurements were made and stature estimation equations were created using simple linear regression analysis. RESULTS The measurements for stature estimation with the highest correlation coefficient (r) and the lowest standard error of the estimate (SEE) were the combination of anterior sacral body heights of S1 + S2 (y = 123.011 + (7.638x), r = 0.564, SEE = 4.527 cm) for males, the anterior sacral height (y = 129.074 + (2.576x), r = 0.460, SEE = 5.112 cm) for females, and the vertebral body maximum width of S1 (y = 105.197 + (12.829x), r = 0.550, SEE = 6.762 cm) for males and females combined, where y is the stature estimate in cm, and x is the value of the measurement in cm. The most accurate equations for stature estimation used the vertebral body height of S1 in both males and females which had the lowest value of mean absolute error and the standard error of prediction. CONCLUSIONS The regression equations for stature estimation using sacral length in this study provided accurate stature estimates for both sexes, which suggests these equations can be used to estimation stature in human identification, especially in the Thai population.