Effect of obesity on the reliability of age‐at‐death indicators of the pelvis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8316752 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel J Wescott (0000-0002-4536-8525, Department of Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State (FACTS) Texas State University San Marcos TX 78666, corresponding author), Jessica L Drew (Department of Anthropology Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton FL 33431) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 156 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 595-605 |
| Publication date | 2015-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/ajpa.22674 |
| PMID | 25447813 |
| OpenAlex | W2146636000 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 62 |
During medicolegal investigations, forensic anthropologists commonly use morphological changes in the auricular surface of the ilium and the symphyseal face of the pubis to estimate age. However, obesity may impact the reliability of age estimations based on pelvic joints. Over the past several decades, the prevalence of obesity has dramatically increased in the United States (US). Since the rate of progression through age‐related stages of weight‐bearing joints may be influenced by excessive body mass, it is important that anthropologists understand how obesity affects age‐related morphological changes in the skeleton. This study investigates the effects of obesity on the validity of the estimated age‐at‐death based on the Buckberry–Chamberlin and Suchey–Brooks methods by comparing US adults considered normal BMI (BMI 18.5–24.9) and obese (BMI ≥ 30). The obese group exhibits overall greater bias (overestimation of age) and inaccuracy, less precision, and lower correlations between estimated and known age than the normal BMI group using both methods, although differences in the pubic symphysis are not statistically significant. For the auricular surface the age of transition from one phase to the next is lower and the standard deviations are greater for the obese as compared to normal weight individuals. This study helps to elucidate how obesity affects the rate of age‐related skeletal change of the human pelvis, and shows that the pubic symphysis may be a more reliable indicator of age in obese individuals and that greater standard deviations are needed for obese individuals when estimating age‐at‐death from the pelvis. Am J Phys Anthropol 156:595–605, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc
Body mass index · Obesity · Pelvis · Pubic symphysis · Symphysis · Autopsy Techniques and Outcomes · Demography · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Physiology · Surgery · Urological Disorders and Treatments
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Evaluation of the suchey–brooks method of age estimation in an Australian subpopulation using computed tomography of the pubic symphyseal surface
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Application of the Suchey-Brooks system of pubic age estimation to recent Japanese skeletal material
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| Unique citing works | 13 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,18 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2023 (9) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |