title: A new formula for assessing skeletal age in growing infants and children by measuring carpals and epiphyses of radio and ulna.
abstract: The aim of this study is to develop a specific formula for the purpose of assessing skeletal age in a sample of Italian growing infants and children by measuring carpals and epiphyses of radio and ulna. A sample of 332 X-rays of left hand-wrist bones (130 boys and 202 girls), aged between 1 and 16 years, was analyzed retrospectively. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was applied to study how sex affects the growth of the ratio Bo/Ca in the boys and girls groups. The regression model, describing age as a linear function of sex and the Bo/Ca ratio for the new Italian sample, yielded the following formula: Age = -1.7702 + 1.0088 g + 14.8166 (Bo/Ca). This model explained 83.5% of total variance (R(2) = 0.835). The median of the absolute values of residuals (observed age minus predicted age) was -0.38, with a quartile deviation of 2.01 and a standard error of estimate of 1.54. A second sample test of 204 Italian children (108 girls and 96 boys), aged between 1 and 16 years, was used to evaluate the accuracy of the specific regression model. A sample paired t-test was used to analyze the mean differences between the skeletal and chronological age. The mean error for girls is 0.00 and the estimated age is slightly underestimated in boys with a mean error of -0.30 years. The standard deviations are 0.70 years for girls and 0.78 years for boys. The obtained results indicate that there is a high relationship between estimated and chronological ages.
authors.affiliation: Servicio Médico Legal, Unidad Especial de Identificación Forense, Santiago de Chile, Chile; AgEstimation Project, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Macerata, Macerata, Italy. Electronic address: sdeluca@sml.cl.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Luca
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopaedic Sciences, University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mangiulli
authors.affiliation: LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Merelli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Conforti
authors.affiliation: AgEstimation Project, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Macerata, Macerata, Italy.
authors.forename: Luz Andrea
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Velandia Palacio
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopaedic Sciences, University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Agostini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Spinas
authors.affiliation: AgEstimation Project, Institute of Legal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Macerata, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cameriere
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000365:Age Determination by Skeleton / Q000379:methods*; D002348:Carpal Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000254:growth & development*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004838:Epiphyses / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000254:growth & development*; D005260:Female; D018732:Forensic Anthropology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007558:Italy; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010012:Osteogenesis; D011884:Radius / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000254:growth & development*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014457:Ulna / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000254:growth & development*
keywords: Age estimation; Forensic sciences; Hand-wrist bones; Italy; Skeletal age