CORRELATION OF HUMAN HEIGHT WITH HAND LENGTH IN INDIAN INDIVIDUALS

Address for Correspondence: Dr. Veena Vidya Shankar, Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy, Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore – 560054, Karnataka, India. Contact No.: Mobile – 9980308735 E-Mail: veena24shankar@gmail.com Introduction: The estimation of sex and stature is crucial in identifying the individual especially when the body has been destroyed, decomposed or certain parts of unknown victim remains either in mass disasters like plane crash, mass suicide, homicides, train and road accidents, tsunamis, forest fires, earth quakes or from those disposed off in gutters or waste dumps. The estimation of height is a very important parameter in anthropometric measurements, in identification in medico-legal cases and in establishment of racial differences. The hand length varies in different races and ethnic groups and is used to determine sex, stature and nutritional status of an individual Aims: To study the relationship of human height with hand length and to derive a mathematical module to predict the height from hand length. Materials and Methods: The This study has been done in Ramaiah Medical College in the year 2016 where hand length and height of 220 individuals aged between 18 and 25 years of age in and around Bangalore has been measured in centimeters. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Linear regression were employed for the Statistical analysis of the data Results: There was a weak positive correlation between height and hand length of both sides (r= 0.25, 0.26; p<0.001) which was statistically significant. Conclusion: It was observed from the present study that, there was a weak positive correlation between height and hand length. However, further analysis revealed that hand length alone is not sufficient for accurate prediction of height.


INTRODUCTION
head length in in males and females (Tab.-1).It was observed that there was a weak positive correlation between height and mean head length which was statistically significant (r =0.27, P <0.001) (Table -2).The correlation of height with head length in males and females also revealed a weak positive correlation which was statistically significant (Table -3) Khan MA et al [13] have shown a statistically significant correlation between the height and cranial length and breadth and auricular cranial length.Neetu Purohit et al [14] results show that two parameters head length and breadth correlated positively with stature except head breadth in females.Sudeep Kumar Yadav et al [15] have reported a statistically significant positive correlation between the height and the other cephalometric variables namely head length, facial height, breadth of the bizygomatic arch.Vinitha G et al [16] have found a strong association between height and head length in both boys and girls.
In the present study, the correlation of height with head length in males and females revealed weak positive correlation which was statistically significant.
It was observed in the present study, that there was a weak positive correlation between height and head length in both males and females indicating that head length alone is not a reliable indicator in prediction of stature CONCLUSION Conflicts of Interests: None

International
Journal of Anatomy and Research, Int J Anat Res 2017, Vol 5(4.3):4723-26.ISSN 2321-4287 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.16965/ijar.2017.457ronmental factors.Stature exhibits a definite proportional relationship with various parts of the body like head, face, trunk, vertebral column and extremities[1].One of the most important aspects in identifying the personal identity of an individual is stature which is influenced by genetic and envi-This finds application in anthropometry where the data can be used for the estimation of variations between different individuals and is used for sizing in garment industry; in forensics for the identification of unknown human remains and in designing of the workplace ergonomically.Anthropometry, the standard tool of physical anthropology throws light on the scientific methods and techniques for estimation of various measurements [2].Various studies have been conducted to determine stature from percutaneous measurements of different body parts, from bony skull, from radiographic lateral cephalograms of skull and cephalo-facial measurements.Some of them have shown positive correlation while others have failed to do so [1].Stature of an individual is not constant and may show severe reduction with heavy load carrying by individual.However, the age and repeatability of the load carrying determines the decrease.The stature decreases by 6 mm per decade after 30 years of age.Rules of body proportions exhibit consistent ratios among themselves and relative to the total body height and are age, sex and race dependent.They are also of great importance in Fine arts, Anatomy, Anthropology and Forensic medicine[2].The various anthropometric parameters used to study the pattern of growth in children are population specific and variables include age, weight, height, and cephalic variables such as head breadth, head length, head circumference and cephalic index.The nutritional status and environmental factors are key factors in complete expression of the genetic potential for growth[3].The craniofacial anthropometric measurements guide surgeons in surgical repairs of anomalies associated with the head region [4].Improvement in nutrition when it is suboptimal produces a parallel increase in height, head circumference and brain size leading to improved neurological development and functioning of brain and higher intelligence [5].It has been reported that in the last century the brain growth has accelerated to a great extent with a decrease in the age at which adult brain size is attained without alteration in the size of adult brain which is probably responsible for shorter cranial length, accounting for greater growth laterally in Japanese and vertically in Europeans[6.]AIM: To study the relationship of human height with head length.MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a Cross-sectional study carried out in Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore in individuals aged between 18 and 25 years of age in and around Bangalore.Based on the previous studies conducted by Dr Parth M Pandya[7], Dr Seema[8] & Dr Sumita Agarwal[9], the correlation co-efficient varied from 0.3 to 0.5.Assuming the correlation co-efficient to be around 0.34 with the power of 85% and alpha error of 5, sample size was estimated to be 225.Inclusion criteria: Individuals aged between 18 and 25 years in and around Bangalore Exclusion criteria -Individuals with features suggestive of dysmorphic syndromes Method: The measurements were taken three times and their mean value has been considered.Data so collected has been entered in a master chart in Microsoft® Excel and has been analyzed using the SPSS version 17.0.Informed consent has been taken from all participants.The ethical clearance has been obtained from the institution.Parameters Studied were: Head length : Head length was measured with a spreading caliper from glabella to the inion.Height: The height of the participant was measured with the wall mounted height measuring device-Stadiometer.Statistical Methods: Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation has been computed for height and head length.Pearson's correlation coefficient has been used to find the correlation between stature and head length.Mutiple Linear regression has been used to predict height from head length of an individual.P value <0.05 has been considered as statistically significant.Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 18.0.chicagoSPSS Inc.In this study, the sample size was 225 with 93 males and 132 females.The mean head length was found to be 21.43±0.94cm and ranged between 19.39 to 24.74 cms.The gender wise comparison revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in mean values of RESULTS Girish Shiv Shankar, et al., .CORRELATION OF HUMAN HEIGHT WITH HEAD LENGTH IN INDIAN INDIVIDUALS.

Table 1 :
Comparison of mean difference in head length among males and females.Correlation of height with head length.

Table 3 :
Correlation of height with head length in males and females.Danborno et al [3]have shown that all the head dimensions namely the head length and breadth, head circumference and cephalic index correlates significantly with height in boys and girls.Arun Kumar Agnihotri et al[1]have reported that horizontal head circumference, nasal breadth and morphological facial length as major predictors for stature estimation among males, while among females, the stature was best estimated by physiognomic facial length, bizygomatic breadth and horizontal head circumference in descending order.Ese Anibor et al[4]have stated that the cranio-facial parameters may be useful in determining stature and identifying an individual's gender.RajaniSingh[11]has reported that a very high correlation exists between height and head length; and a moderately high correlation between height and head height in Indian male population; in females head height correlates with stature but not head lengt h.Bansal Hansi et al[2] has reported a positive correlation between head length and height in age group 6 -10 years.Shiv Shankar, et al., .CORRELATION OF HUMAN HEIGHT WITH HEAD LENGTH IN INDIAN INDIVIDUALS.
[12]halana et al[12]in the study on fetuses have found high correlation of head length with crown-lump length and with gestational age.Sumit Agrawal et al[9]have shown a significant positive correlation in both males and females for stature with head length and breadth.Girish