Evaluating costal cartilage for sex and age estimation from PA chest radiographs of North Indian population: a retrospective study

Background: This study is conducted to estimate age and sex from chest radiographs. The aim of this study was to determine (I) whether costal cartilage calcification pattern help in estimating sex in North Indian sample and (ii) whether there is any relation between age and costal cartilage calcification. Results: The statistical probability of estimating peripheral pattern in male was 99.3%, and for females, it was 100% for central type of calcification. The minimum age where lower costal calcification was present was 22-year-old female and 21 years old male. The degree of calcification and age showed positive correlation; similarly, the value of spearman's rho showed significant result (for whole sample r(s) = 0.911, p < 0.01 (for male subjects, it was r(s) = 0.921, p < 0.01; for females, it was r(s) = 0.905, p < 0.01)). Conclusions: The degree of calcification is useful in estimating age groups and becomes more determined with advancing age. Prediction of sex by using radiological method gives the advantages of simplicity, inexpensiveness, speed, and high accuracy. This method for age and sex estimation will play a useful role in screening test and in cases where the thoracic part of the body is found like dismembered body, putrefied dead remains, and unidentified bodies.