Evaluation of frontal sinus index in establishing sex dimorphism using three-dimensional cone beam computed tomography in Northern Saudi Arabian population

Abstract

Purpose: Identification of sex of unknown people becomes important in situations of mass disaster. Previous studies have shown that morphological characteristic of frontal sinus is distinctive to particular individual and hence, literature suggests that it can be used in establishing identification of a person. However, few researches have concluded that, its use in determining sexual dimorphism is limited. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate frontal sinus index using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and differentiate sex dimorphism based on the index obtained. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was undertaken using three-dimensional-CBCT scans. By simple random sampling method, 150 scans were selected, out of which 74 were of male and 76 were of female within the age group of 20–64 years. The frontal sinus width and the height were measured, and the ratio was taken as frontal sinus index. This index was correlated to the differentiation of sex. Data were analyzed using SPSS, and sex dimorphism was assessed using discriminant function analysis. Results: The mean height of the frontal sinus in both males and females was 30.12 ± 7.6 mm and 30.14 ± 7.8 mm, respectively. The mean width of frontal sinus in males (13.39 ± 3.6 mm) was slightly more than that of females (12.06 ± 3 mm). Conclusion: The parameter frontal sinus index measured using CBCT was found to be a contributing factor in sex determination in forensic identification within the sample population.

Keywords

• discriminant function analysis
• forensic anthropology
• frontal sinus index
• sex dimorphism
• three-dimensional cone beam computed tomography