Occipital condyle measurements for age and sex estimation: a retrospective cone beam computed tomography study

The aim of this study was to conduct a comparative assessment of the length (L), width (W), height (H), and sagittal angle (SA) of the occipital condyle (OC) with respect to age and sex estimation via cone beam computed tomography among the population of Dakshina Kannada district. A retrospective analysis was conducted on full-field-of-view (FOV) cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images obtained for diagnostic and treatment purposes from department archives. The mean values of OC L, W, H, and SA on both the right and left sides were measured. The intraclass correlation coefficient was used to determine the inter- and intraobserver reliability. All the recorded variables were tested for differences with respect to the different age groups (20–35 years, 36–50 years, 51–65 years, and 66–80 years) via the F test and Welch’s ANOVA (W test). Post hoc analysis was conducted to compare the mean variables within the different age groups. The variables were then compared on the basis of sex via independent t tests. Stepwise discriminant function analysis was used to discriminate the sex of the participants. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 200 scans of which 99 were from males and 101 were from females were included. Furthermore, 50 scans each from four age groups were included. With respect to sex, comparison revealed that the R OCL and L OCL were significantly greater in males, with a p value of < 0.001. The R OCW was significantly greater among males, with a p value of 0.005. A comparison of R OCH and L OCH between the two groups revealed that both variables were greater in males, with a p value of < 0.001. No significant difference was found among the parameters related to age. The discriminant functional analysis revealed an overall accuracy of 95.50%. The variables related to the OC i.e. the length, width and right OC height, significantly differ among males and can be utilized for sex estimation via cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), offering significant applications in forensic research contributing to the process of identifying living or dead individuals.