Sex Estimation Using Patellar Morphometry: Evidence from a Late Roman Population in Anatolia.

IF 1.1 Q2 MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL
Yarenkur Alkan, Adem Tokpinar
{"title":"Sex Estimation Using Patellar Morphometry: Evidence from a Late Roman Population in Anatolia.","authors":"Yarenkur Alkan, Adem Tokpinar","doi":"10.4274/MMJ.galenos.2025.38839","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Accurate sex estimation is a cornerstone in forensic and bioarchaeological investigations. While the pelvis and skull are traditionally used for this purpose, their absence due to taphonomic damage necessitates the use of alternative skeletal elements such as the patellar. This study evaluates the diagnostic potential of patellar morphometry for sex estimation in a Late Roman population.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study analyzed 146 adult patellar (70 males, 76 females) recovered from the Karlığın Tepesi Necropolis 3<sup>rd</sup>-6<sup>th</sup> centuries AD in Malatya, Türkiye. Standard osteological methods were used to determine sex. Three patellar dimensions/length (PL), patellar width (PW), and patellar thickness (PT)-were measured. Intraobserver reliability was assessed via technical error of measurement (TEM), relative TEM (rTEM), and the reliability coefficient (R). Stepwise logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted to identify the best predictors of sex. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) values, cut-off thresholds, and effect sizes were reported.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Statistically significant differences were found between males and females in PL (p=0.001), PW (p<0.001), and PT (p=0.003). The stepwise logistic regression model using PL and PT produced AUROC values of 0.906 in Step 1 and 0.920 in Step 2, with sensitivity and specificity ranging from 82.85% to 94.73%. All intraobserver reliability metrics (TEM, rTEM, R) indicated excellent measurement precision (R=1.000).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Patellar morphometry demonstrates high diagnostic accuracy for sex estimation, particularly when multivariate models are applied. Despite the moderate discriminative power of patella thickness alone, its combination with other parameters enhances overall performance. The study provides the first population-specific discriminant model for sex estimation using the patella in an Anatolian archaeological sample. However, the skewed sex distribution and the possibility of post-depositional changes in ancient skeletal remains should be considered when interpreting results. Additionally, the population-specific nature of the archaeological sample and the lack of external validation on independent datasets limit the generalizability of the model to other contexts.</p>","PeriodicalId":37427,"journal":{"name":"Medeniyet medical journal","volume":"40 3","pages":"166-172"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12478640/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Medeniyet medical journal","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4274/MMJ.galenos.2025.38839","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective: Accurate sex estimation is a cornerstone in forensic and bioarchaeological investigations. While the pelvis and skull are traditionally used for this purpose, their absence due to taphonomic damage necessitates the use of alternative skeletal elements such as the patellar. This study evaluates the diagnostic potential of patellar morphometry for sex estimation in a Late Roman population.

Methods: The study analyzed 146 adult patellar (70 males, 76 females) recovered from the Karlığın Tepesi Necropolis 3rd-6th centuries AD in Malatya, Türkiye. Standard osteological methods were used to determine sex. Three patellar dimensions/length (PL), patellar width (PW), and patellar thickness (PT)-were measured. Intraobserver reliability was assessed via technical error of measurement (TEM), relative TEM (rTEM), and the reliability coefficient (R). Stepwise logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted to identify the best predictors of sex. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) values, cut-off thresholds, and effect sizes were reported.

Results: Statistically significant differences were found between males and females in PL (p=0.001), PW (p<0.001), and PT (p=0.003). The stepwise logistic regression model using PL and PT produced AUROC values of 0.906 in Step 1 and 0.920 in Step 2, with sensitivity and specificity ranging from 82.85% to 94.73%. All intraobserver reliability metrics (TEM, rTEM, R) indicated excellent measurement precision (R=1.000).

Conclusions: Patellar morphometry demonstrates high diagnostic accuracy for sex estimation, particularly when multivariate models are applied. Despite the moderate discriminative power of patella thickness alone, its combination with other parameters enhances overall performance. The study provides the first population-specific discriminant model for sex estimation using the patella in an Anatolian archaeological sample. However, the skewed sex distribution and the possibility of post-depositional changes in ancient skeletal remains should be considered when interpreting results. Additionally, the population-specific nature of the archaeological sample and the lack of external validation on independent datasets limit the generalizability of the model to other contexts.

用髌骨形态测定法估计性别:来自安纳托利亚罗马晚期人口的证据。
目的:准确的性别估计是法医和生物考古调查的基石。虽然骨盆和颅骨传统上被用于此目的,但由于扁平损伤,它们的缺失需要使用替代骨骼元件,如髌骨。本研究评估髌骨形态测定在晚期罗马人群性别估计中的诊断潜力。方法:对在土耳其马拉提亚(Malatya)的Karlığın Tepesi墓地中发现的146块成人髌骨(男性70块,女性76块)进行分析。使用标准的骨学方法来确定性别。测量三个髌骨尺寸/长度(PL),髌骨宽度(PW)和髌骨厚度(PT)。通过技术测量误差(TEM)、相对测量误差(rTEM)和信度系数(R)来评估观察者内信度。采用逐步逻辑回归和受试者工作特征分析来确定性别的最佳预测因子。报告了受试者工作特征(AUROC)值下的面积、截止阈值和效应大小。结果:男性和女性在PL (p=0.001), PW (p)方面存在统计学上的显著差异。结论:髌骨形态测定法在性别估计方面具有很高的诊断准确性,特别是在应用多变量模型时。尽管髌骨厚度单独的判别能力中等,但其与其他参数的结合可提高整体性能。该研究提供了第一个使用安纳托利亚考古样本的髌骨进行性别估计的人口特异性判别模型。然而,在解释结果时,应该考虑到古代骨骼遗骸的性别分布和沉积后变化的可能性。此外,考古样本的人口特异性和缺乏对独立数据集的外部验证限制了模型在其他情况下的推广能力。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
Medeniyet medical journal
Medeniyet medical journal Medicine-Medicine (all)
CiteScore
1.70
自引率
0.00%
发文量
88
审稿时长
5 weeks
期刊介绍: The Medeniyet Medical Journal (Medeniyet Med J) is an open access, peer-reviewed, and scientific journal of Istanbul Medeniyet University Faculty of Medicine on various academic disciplines in medicine, which is published in English four times a year, in March, June, September, and December by a group of academics. Medeniyet Medical Journal is the continuation of Göztepe Medical Journal (ISSN: 1300-526X) which was started publishing in 1985. It changed the name as Medeniyet Medical Journal in 2015. Submission and publication are free of charge. No fees are asked from the authors for evaluation or publication process. All published articles are available online in the journal website (www.medeniyetmedicaljournal.org) without any fee. The journal publishes intradisciplinary or interdisciplinary clinical, experimental, and basic researches as well as original case reports, reviews, invited reviews, or letters to the editor, Being published since 1985, the Medeniyet Med J recognizes that the best science should lead to better lives based on the fact that the medicine should serve to the needs of society, and knowledge should transform society. The journal aims to address current issues at both national and international levels, start debates, and exert an influence on decision-makers all over the world by integrating science in everyday life. Medeniyet Med J is committed to serve the public and influence people’s lives in a positive way by making science widely accessible. Believing that the only goal is improving lives, and research has an impact on people’s lives, we select the best research papers in line with this goal.
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:604180095
Book学术官方微信