Bianca Gelbrich1, Carolin Frerking1, Sandra Weiss2, Sebastian Schwerdt1, Angelika Stellzig-Eisenhauer2, Eve Tausche3, Götz Gelbrich4,5. 1. a Department of Orthodontics , University Hospital Leipzig , Germany . 2. b Department of Orthodontics , University Hospital Würzburg , Germany . 3. c Department of Orthodontics , University Hospital Dresden , Germany . 4. d Institute of Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, University of Würzburg , Germany , and. 5. e Clinical Trial Centre, University Hospital Würzburg , Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Forensic age estimation in living adolescents is based on several methods, e.g. the assessment of skeletal and dental maturation. Combination of several methods is mandatory, since age estimates from a single method are too imprecise due to biological variability. The correlation of the errors of the methods being combined must be known to calculate the precision of combined age estimates. AIM: To examine the correlation of the errors of the hand and the third molar method and to demonstrate how to calculate the combined age estimate. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Clinical routine radiographs of the hand and dental panoramic images of 383 patients (aged 7.8-19.1 years, 56% female) were assessed. RESULTS: Lack of correlation (r = -0.024, 95% CI = -0.124 to + 0.076, p = 0.64) allows calculating the combined age estimate as the weighted average of the estimates from hand bones and third molars. Combination improved the standard deviations of errors (hand = 0.97, teeth = 1.35 years) to 0.79 years. CONCLUSION: Uncorrelated errors of the age estimates obtained from both methods allow straightforward determination of the common estimate and its variance. This is also possible when reference data for the hand and the third molar method are established independently from each other, using different samples.
BACKGROUND: Forensic age estimation in living adolescents is based on several methods, e.g. the assessment of skeletal and dental maturation. Combination of several methods is mandatory, since age estimates from a single method are too imprecise due to biological variability. The correlation of the errors of the methods being combined must be known to calculate the precision of combined age estimates. AIM: To examine the correlation of the errors of the hand and the third molar method and to demonstrate how to calculate the combined age estimate. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Clinical routine radiographs of the hand and dental panoramic images of 383 patients (aged 7.8-19.1 years, 56% female) were assessed. RESULTS: Lack of correlation (r = -0.024, 95% CI = -0.124 to + 0.076, p = 0.64) allows calculating the combined age estimate as the weighted average of the estimates from hand bones and third molars. Combination improved the standard deviations of errors (hand = 0.97, teeth = 1.35 years) to 0.79 years. CONCLUSION: Uncorrelated errors of the age estimates obtained from both methods allow straightforward determination of the common estimate and its variance. This is also possible when reference data for the hand and the third molar method are established independently from each other, using different samples.
Entities:
Keywords:
Age estimation error; combined methods; dental panoramic radiograph; forensic age estimation; hand radiograph
Authors: Lil-Sofie Ording Müller; Amaka Offiah; Catherine Adamsbaum; Ignasi Barber; Pier Luigi Di Paolo; Paul Humphries; Susan Shelmerdine; Laura Tanturri De Horatio; Paolo Toma; Catherine Treguier; Karen Rosendahl Journal: Pediatr Radiol Date: 2019-03-26