Age estimation on post-mortem CT based on pelvic bone mineral density measurement and the state of putrefaction: a multivariate method.
Age estimation
Anthropology
Bone mineral density
Forensic
Postmortem CTs
Radiological alteration index
Journal
International journal of legal medicine
ISSN: 1437-1596
Titre abrégé: Int J Legal Med
Pays: Germany
ID NLM: 9101456
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
20 Aug 2024
20 Aug 2024
Historique:
received:
17
06
2024
accepted:
13
08
2024
medline:
20
8
2024
pubmed:
20
8
2024
entrez:
20
8
2024
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
Age-at-death estimation is an important issue in forensic medicine and anthropology. Initially, methods relied on morphological criteria, but with the advancement of radiology, new techniques such as morphological studies on multi-slice computed tomography (CT) reconstructions have emerged. Recent studies have shown promising results by investigating the correlation between age and bone mineral density (BMD). However, there is currently a lack of data on post-mortem CTs (PMCT) involving decomposed bodies, and limited information exists regarding changes in Hounsfield Units measurement in a post-mortem context. In light of these gaps, our study aimed to examine the relationship between age at death and pubic and ilium BMD using a sample of forensic bodies. We also aimed to determine whether post-mortem processes, such as putrefaction, could interfere with this correlation. Our retrospective analysis encompassed 637 PMCTs conducted before medicolegal autopsies at Tours University Hospital. Utilizing simple and multiple linear regressions, we investigated the correlation between age and pubic and ilium BMD, as well as the relationship between BMD and the radiologic alteration index (RAI), a scale employed to quantify the degree of putrefaction. Our findings indicate promising outcomes in age-at-death estimation using pubic and/or ilium BMD for bodies exhibiting no or moderate decomposition (RAI < 80), particularly among individuals under 40 years old. However, for highly decomposed corpses (RAI ≥ 80), the presence of gas infiltration significantly influences the BMD of both the ilium and pubis. Consequently, we advocate for the incorporation of the RAI score into the age estimation equation to enhance the accuracy of our results in such cases. Further investigation involving a larger cohort of decomposed bodies could facilitate refinement and validation of our method within this specific population.
Identifiants
pubmed: 39162803
doi: 10.1007/s00414-024-03316-x
pii: 10.1007/s00414-024-03316-x
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Informations de copyright
© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
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