The Credibility of Cephalogram Parameters in Gender Identification From Medico-Legal Relevance Among the Iranian Populatio

Abstract

Background: Normal cephalogram parameters seem to be gender discriminative and thus applicable in forensic medicine. We assessed validity of cephalogram parameters in gender identification among the Iranian population. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 75 Iranian men and 75 Iranian women aged 25 to 54 years. On their first admission, the physicians requested for simple lateral skull X-ray for all participants. Results: Using area under the ROC curve, gonion-gonion index (AUC=0.741) and vertexmention index (AUC=0.697) had a moderate value to discriminate male from female gender, while other parameters lacked enough power to differentiate gender. The best cut-off point in gonion-gonion index for discriminating male from female gender was 103.75 with a sensitivity of 74.7% and a specificity of 65.3%. Also, the best cut-off value for vertex-mention index to differentiate two genders was 244.75 with a sensitivity of 74.7% and a specificity of 62.7%. By considering two parameters of gonion-gonion and vertex-mention, it is possible to differentiate males from females with a sensitivity of 82.6% and a specificity of 71.8%. Conclusion: The two gonion-gonion and vertex-mention indices on cephalogram are applicable for gender discrimination.

Keywords

• cephalogram
• gender
• legal medicine