CORRELATION OF HYOID BONE MORPHOLOGY WITH AGE AND SEX IN FORENSIC IDENTIFICATION

Abstract

The hyoid bone, a solitary U-shaped skeletal feature located in the anterior neck, has increasingly being studied for its forensic value in detecting sex and age. Variations in its morphometric properties and fusion patterns could be useful identification markers in medico-legal investigations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between chosen morphometric parameters of the hyoid bone, its fusion status, chronological age, and biological sex, and to assess the predictive utility of morphometric variables for sex prediction. A cross-sectional analytical study was conduted on 120 adult hyoid bones (60 males and 60 females) aged 20 to 85 years. Linear morphometric parameters, including body length, grater cornu length, and overall hyoid length were measured. Fusion of the body and grater cornua was classified as unfused, moderately fused, or completely fused. Male hyoid bones exhibited grater mean body and cornu lengths compared to female specimens (p < 0.001). Total body length showed strong sexual dimorphism, with greater mean values in males. Sexes differed in total length. Fusion stauts showed a progressive increase with aging, with greater proportion of fusion was observed after 50 years of age. Logistic regression results showed an overall estimation sex classification accuracy of 87%. Linear morphometric variables showed strong correlation with age, while the fusion status showed a positive association with increasing age. The hyoid bone shows notable morphology variations between sexes and age-related fusion changes. Combined morphometric measurements may serve as useful indicators for sex determination predictors, while fusion evaluation can assist in broad age shopping.