The Social Analysis on the Age Estimation of Living Body in Jeollabuk-Do

Received July 24, 2018 Revised September 21, 2018 Accepted October 17, 2018 Purpose: Age estimation is often used in the identification of living persons. Various methods are used for age estimation using teeth, and there are many studies on the methodology. But the study of changes in the social aspects of age estimation with the passage of times is still insufficient. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the age estimation cases in the social aspects and to investigate the changes of age estimation cases in Jeollabuk-do. Methods: From January 2008 to December 2015, 76 cases of age estimation were collected. The collected data were organized and analyzed. The distribution of patients by age and year, the difference between alleged and registered age, the purpose of age estimation, and regional distribution were examined. In addition, we compared the previous study which analyzed the age estimation cases in Jeollabuk-do from 2000 to 2007. Results: According to the distribution by age, the age distribution was the largest in the 50s and 60s, with 69.8%. The most reason to correct age was related to welfare benefits (38.2%), and most of the people who corrected for welfare benefits were over 50 years old. The age correction for purpose of welfare benefits existed every year during the study period. As the result of comparison with previous study, total number of age estimation cases was decreased very sharply, and distribution by age group was also changed. Conclusions: Changes in age estimation cases were observed when compared to the previous study. A significant decrease in the total number of age estimation cases was observed, but the number of age estimation in the 50s did not decrease. Although the total number of age estimation requests decreases, age estimation in the elderly are likely to persist. Thus, it is necessary to study new age estimation methods suitable for the elderly.