Stature estimation from long bone lengths in Bulgarians.

Summary The purpose of the present study is to develop a new regression procedure for predicting the stature from the length of the limb long bones taking into account sex- and age-related changes. The statures and lengths of humerus (H), tibia (T) and fibula (Fi) were measured in 416 forensic cases (286 male and 130 female adult Bulgarians). The measurements of the bones and the stature were made on cadavers before autopsy. Stature regression analysis is performed for each of the three bones, as well as for a combination of humerus and tibia. There is a possibility of applying five different procedures with regard of the effect of aging on stature decrease. Resulting models are tested for outliers and heteroskedasticity. Regression parameters, their standard deviations, standard error of the regression, Anova test for model adequacy and the covariance matrix of regression parameters are calculated. The confidence intervals of the error term are determined. Nomograms for a direct application of the results are constructed where it is convenient. The method provides better and more reliable results of stature estimation for the Bulgarian population than other formulae.