Cut-Off Values for Sex Determination Via Foramen Magnum Area: An Anthropometric Pilot Study

Abstract

The foramen magnum is an important landmark and it is the largest and 3-dimensional aperture of the base of the skull, has been used in sex determination in many studies. The aim of this study is to examine the foramen magnum area (FMA) using statistical evaluations and to generate cut-off values for sex determination by using automatic CT area calculation, area calculations of Teixeira and Radinsky. The study was conducted on CT images of 493 (248 male, 245 female) individuals. The effects of FMAs calculated according to 3 different FMA calculation methods on estimating sex were examined using logistic regression analysis. Hosmer-Lemeshow test was used for regression model fit in logistic regression analysis. ROC curve analysis was used to determine whether the FMA variable, which contributed significantly to the model as a result of the logistic regression analysis, has a diagnostic value in the estimation of sex. According to the ROC analysis results, the cut-off values obtained in all three FMA calculation methods are effective in sex determination. The cut-off values for automatic CT area calculation and for area calculations of Teixeira and Radinsky were 688.5 mm2, 767.8 mm2 and 755.3 mm2 respectively. The data of the present study will be of use in forensic science and anthropology and for further studies on population data and serve as a future framework for sex determination using craniometric parameters. © 2023 Romanian Society of Legal Medicine.