Estimation of Stature using Linear Regression Equations of Weight, Age, Sitting Height or Leg Length among Hausa Children in Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study is aimed at investigating relationship (correalation) of stature with age, weight, sitting height and leg length with a view to developing linear regression equations for stature estimation among Hausa children. Statue of individuals could be estimated even if stadiometer or any measuring device is not available (especially in rural areas) or where they are faulty, also individuals that are too ill to be positioned for stature measurement could still have their stature estimated by using just their age for example. The findings of this study will add to the scarce forensic data for stature estimation in Hausa population. Estimation of stature is important in identification of decomposed dead bodies and skeletal remains and in doing this regression analysis has been the method of choice (Rajesh, Kewal, Deepica, Ajay and Vishal 2020). This study has achieved estimation of height using linear regression equations formed with age and each anthropometric measurement of weight, sitting height and leg length. A sample of 1050 school children (526 males and 524 females) was randomly selected for measurements of the anthropometric parameters (age calculated by way of birth certificate). All parameters were found to correlate positively with height using the Pearson’s correlation analysis (p<0.01). Leg length was found to be better predictor of height of all the parameters due to its high coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.829) for females and (R2 = 0.858) for males. In conclusion, the study was able to established equations for prediction of height based on its correlation with the other anthropometric parameters.