Height estimation from head dimensions in South-South Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Height estimation is an important stage of forensic investigation to identify an unknown person. The problem of unidentified human remains in the study area, due to local militia activities, kidnapping, and murder, necessitated this study to assess the correlation between the body height and head dimensions and to formulate regression models for estimation of height that are population and gender-specific. Materials and methods: The study involved 952 subjects (464 males and 488 females), aged 18–30 years, from five ethnic groups and sampled from six universities in South-South Nigeria. Stature, head circumference, head length, and head width were measured using a standard anthropometric method. The data collected were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Statistical significance was pegged at p < 0.05. Results: There was a significantly greater head dimension in males compared to females. There was a significant relationship between height and head dimensions in the majority of data. The relationship of the head circumference with stature was strongest in male data among the Bekwara and combined data among the Esan and Urhobo. Regarding the head length, the strongest relationship was in females and combined data among Bekwara, and males and combined data among the Ogbia had the strongest relationship. The relationship of stature with the head width was strongest in males and combined data among the Bekwara, and female data among the Ogbia. Conclusion: This study showed that head dimensions can be used as tools in the height reconstruction of an individual using simple and multiple regression models, and this has medico-legal implication.