The present study aimed to evaluate height, age, and gender by measuring 3D CT scan indices of the T10 and T11 vertebrae in adults. The relationship between the individuals’ height, age, and gender, and the spine’s morphology is known as a helpful factor in identifying a person in forensic medicine. For this purpose, in cases where only some parts of the spine are available, the morphology of the spine’s vertebrae can be used to understand various skeletal features.
According to the present study, there was a significant statistical difference (P < 0.0001) in the mean heights of male and female patients, with the height being higher in men. This finding is consistent with Tsubaki et al.'s research, reporting that the area of the 10th thoracic vertebra was 970.5 mm
2 in male subjects and 774.0 mm
2 in female subjects. The difference in the area of the 10th thoracic vertebra between male and female subjects was approximately 25% (
12). Similarly, Ramadan et al. found that male subjects had higher mean values than female subjects across all measured dimensions of the T12th vertebra (
10).
The mean difference of all T10 indices, except FW, FD, and APHi, was statistically significant in the two male and female groups. There was also a significant mean difference between men and women regarding all T11 indices except FW, FD, and APHi. Tsubaki et al.'s study showed that five indices of the 10th thoracic vertebra were significantly different in male and female patients. The accuracy of gender determination in male, female, and total subjects was 85.0%, 88.0%, and 86.5%, respectively (
12). In Badr El Dine and El Shafei’s study on the T12 vertebra, among 24 linear measurements, 14 measurements displayed a significant gender difference; the predictive accuracy was between 49.0% and 85.5%; and lower EPD, upper EPW, and superior VL had the higher predictive accuracy (
7). In Yu et al.'s study in Korea, from 35 traits of the T12 vertebra, 23 showed significant gender differences. The linear dimensions of the vertebral body, pedicle, mammillary, and transverse processes were found to have significant differences between men and women. In addition, it was demonstrated that the coronal diameters of the endplates were the most effective with gender determination, with an accuracy of over 80.0% (
9). In Ramadan et al.’s study, all dimensions of the T12 vertebra significantly differed between the two genders (P < 0.001), and the gender prediction accuracy rate was defined at 88.6% (
10). Hou et al. have reported that all dimensions of T12 significantly differed between genders, except in terms of sagittal FD and the right inferior APH. All dimensions had higher mean values in male subjects than in females. The prediction value for gender was determined to be between 56.4 and 90.1% (
11).
According to the results of this study, in the T10 vertebra, VL, EPD, EPW, FW, TDm, VBH, PH, and ADm were significantly and positively correlated with height in men, and the VL, EPD, EPW, TDm, SPH, SPL, PH, APHs, and ADm indices were found to be significantly and positively correlated with height in women. The results of the current study show that the VL, EPD, EPW, FW, FD, TDm, and VBH indices in the T11 vertebra were significantly and positively correlated with height in men. Moreover, VL, EPW, TDm, SPL, PH, APHs, and PW in the T11 vertebrae were positively correlated with height in women. Therefore, in the T11 vertebra, the VL, EPW, and TDm indices in the whole study population (including men and women) had a positive relationship with height. Zyoud et al.’s reported that the linear regression formula derived from post-mortem CT (PMCT) thoracic length parameters gave a good correlation with autopsy body length, so it could be used for a precise estimation of the body height (
13). Moreover, Yudianto and Wibowo's study showed that the correlation between the T1-T12 vertebral indices and the body height was reasonably strong, and the regression formula could be used in the height estimation (
14).
Concerning the correlation between age and thoracic vertebral indices, the present study showed that the VL index in the T10 vertebra in men and the VL, EPD, TDm, SPH, SPL, and APHi indices in women had a positive correlation with the subjects’ age. Additionally, in the T11 vertebra, APHs in men and VL, EPW, EPD, SPL, and APHi in women were positively correlated with age. According to Ramadan et al.'s study in Egypt, a significant positive correlation was found between age and all dimensions of the T12 vertebra, except length of the vertebral foramen (LVF), transverse distance (TD), PW, and TDm (
10). Furthermore, in their study using 3D CT imaging, Kacar et al. reported that the middle thoracic region had the highest correlation with 20 to 70 years of age, and the lower thoracic region revealed a higher correlation with 70 to 90 years of age (
15).
This study showed that most of the T10 and T11 vertebral indices were significantly correlated with gender, height, and age, so they can be used to determine height, age, and gender and, consequently, for the patient’s identification. Given that the participants’ mean age was about 33 years, and they were young and had no degenerative vertebra changes, the results of this study can be useful and even be used as criteria for determining bone age.