Efficacy of Frontal Sinus as a Reliable Tool for Sex Differentiation – A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: Gender determination is pivotal in establishing a biological profile of human remains, where fragments of the skull persist with unidentifiable dental arch data. Owing to the resistance and stability against external factors such as trauma and fractures, radiological assessment of the frontal sinus can be a useful indicator for sexual dimorphism. Keeping this in mind, a study was designed to analyse the efficacy of morphometric assessment of the frontal sinus for gender determination in the North Indian population. Materials and Method: A total of 300 (150 males and 150 females) lateral cephalograms of the age >20 years were retrieved. The frontal sinus index (ratio of maximum height to depth), area, and perimeter of the same were calculated using Adobe Photoshop software. The results obtained were further subjected to statistical analysis. Result and Conclusion: The study yielded an accuracy rate of 75.3% for sex differentiation. The frontal sinus perimeter was a novel parameter which was utilised as a variable in the obtained discriminant equation for sex differentiation. Thus, this cost-effective technique might be useful as an adjunct to assess sexual dimorphism.

Keywords

• forensic sciences
• frontal sinus
• sex determination analysis