Age estimation in the living: A scoping review of population data for skeletal and dental methods

Cummaudo, Marco; Angelis, Danilo De; Magli, Francesca; Minà, Giulia; Merelli, Vera; Cattaneo, Cristina

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110689

Cited by 37 publications

(21 citation statements)

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“…Age assessment of the living has become an important pillar of the forensic practice [17]. One of the main problems regarding age estimation is the impossibility to get an [11,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite a number of methods for age estimation of living individuals having been developed and tested on several populations across the world [17], it is still unclear whether these methods can be applied successfully by raters belonging to different areas of expertise [33][34][35][36]. Moreover, no study has yet investigated how the rater's experience in applying those methods can influence the reliability of the age estimate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although developed several decades ago, the Greulich and Pyle “Radiographic Atlas of Skeletal Development of the Hand and Wrist” [ 14 ] and the methods on dental development by Demirjian and colleagues [ 15 ] and Mincer and colleagues [ 16 ] are still commonly utilized in forensic practice and have been tested in different populations across the world [ 17 ]. However, at present, there are no studies that have examined how the level of expertise of the rater can influence the performance of such methods in the age assessment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of interrater reliability in age assessment of minors: how does expertise influence the evaluation?

et al. 2021

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Nowadays, the clinical forensic medical management of migration flows comprises the age assessment of unaccompanied minors. The process of age estimation is a fundamental pillar for legally ensuring the minors’ rights and their protection needs. The procedure is complex and involves different phases and actors, from medical doctors to law enforcement officers. The present study aimed to investigate the performance of Greulich and Pyle, Demirjian, and Mincer methods when performed by raters both trained and without training. Also, the interrater reliability within groups of raters from different areas of expertise was evaluated. A total of 36 participants were enrolled for this study, divided in two groups according to their level of experience with age estimation methods. Each rater was asked to allocate stages and standards for age assessment, evaluating ten orthopantomograms and ten hand-wrist roentgenograms. The interrater reliability expressed through the Fleiss Kappa coefficient and the agreement with the reference standard were calculated. The results showed that none of the categories analyzed could reach a good interrater reliability (ĸ > 0.8) for both methods. The study results highlighted variation and disagreement in the interpretation of the sample among raters and in the subsequent stages and standards allocation. In conclusion, the results of this study highlight that expertise does influence the reliability of the most utilized methods of age estimation of living individuals and stress the importance of proper training and practice, which could greatly increase the accuracy of age assessments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of interrater reliability in age assessment of minors: how does expertise influence the evaluation?

et al. 2021

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“…The most probable age of the individuals was determined based on the corresponding reference study [ 11 – 21 ] when at least one of the developmental systems was incompletely matured. The minimum age was determined according to the highest minimum age among those provided by the reference studies used for the assessment of each developmental system.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forensic age assessments of alleged unaccompanied minors at the Medicolegal Institute of Montpellier: a 4-year retrospective study

et al. 2022

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Background As many other European countries, France has to deal with a growing number of migrants including some who contend age minority entitling them to benefits and privileges reserved for children within the context of legal proceedings. In case of doubtful minority, medical examinations may be carried out to assess skeletal and dental age. Our objective was to analyse the age assessments regarding individuals of doubtful minority assertion at the Medico-legal Institute of the University Hospital of Montpellier since 2018. Methods Expert reports of forensic age assessments performed during the 2018–2021 period were reviewed. Demographic data and results from medical and radiological investigations based on AGFAD recommendations were recorded in each case. When available, conclusions of judicial investigations about the individuals’ actual age were collected. Results A total of 265 reports were compiled. Age assessments predominantly concerned males (97.7%) and the main reported country of origin was sub-Saharan Africa (80.4%). The mean reported age was 16.3 ± 0.8 years. The individual’s stated age was compatible with the age assessment in 31 cases (11.7%), while expert reports concluded that the age of majority had been reached in 131 cases (49.4%). In cases of discrepancies, the average difference between the stated and the assessed lowest possible age (= assessed minimum age) was 2.7 ± 2.3 years and 6.9 ± 3.8 years between the stated and the most probable age. Age assessments could be compared with actual ages determined by court proceedings in 27 cases, with established ages being systematically higher than the assessed minimum ages (mean difference = 4.4 ± 4.0 years). The difference between actual and stated ages ranged from 1.8 up to 18.9 years (mean difference = 6.4 ± 4.0 years). The used protocol never led to any age overestimation in this population. Conclusion Our study reinforces the relevance of AGFAD recommendations for forensic age assessment and calls for the harmonization of practices based on this methodology in the European countries.

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“…Advances offer a forensic expert useful equipment that allows even archived cases to be revisited. The forensic dentistry and anthropology disciplines have expanded beyond dental identifications to include recognition and reporting of child and elder abuse, age assessment [20][21][22][23][24][25], bitemark analysis [26,27] and many more [1,2,28,29].…”

Section: Human Identification From Dental Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Remains Identification Using Micro-CT, Chemometric and A.I. Methods in Forensic Experimental Reconstruction of Dental Patterns after Concentrated Acid Significant Impact

Thurzo¹,

Jančovičová²,

Hain³

et al. 2022

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(1) Teeth, represent in humans the most resilient tissues. However, exposure to concentrated acids might lead to their obliteration, thus making human identification difficult. Teeth often contain dental restorations from materials that are even more resilient to acid impact. This paper introduces novel method of 3D reconstruction of dental patterns as a crucial step for digital identification with dental records.; (2) With combination of modern methods of Micro-Computer Tomography, Cone Beam Computer Tomography, Attenuated Total Reflection in conjunction with Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Artificial Intelligence Convolutional Neural Network algorithms, the paper presents the way of 3D dental pattern reconstruction and human remains identification. Research studies morphology of teeth, bone, and dental materials (Amalgam, Composite, Glass-ionomer cement) under different periods of exposure to 75% sulfuric acid; (3) Results reveal significant volume loss in bone, enamel, dentine, and as well glass-ionomer cement. Results also reveal significant resistance of composite and amalgam dental materials to sulfuric acid impact, thus serving as strong parts in the dental pattern mosaic. Paper also introduces probably first successful artificial intelligence application in automated forensic CBCT segmentation.; (4) Interdisciplinary cooperation utilizing mentioned technologies can solve problem of human remains identification with 3D reconstruction of dental patterns and their 2D projections over existing ante-mortem records.

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Age estimation in the living: A scoping review of population data for skeletal and dental methods

Cited by 37 publications

References 488 publications

Analysis of interrater reliability in age assessment of minors: how does expertise influence the evaluation?

Analysis of interrater reliability in age assessment of minors: how does expertise influence the evaluation?

Forensic age assessments of alleged unaccompanied minors at the Medicolegal Institute of Montpellier: a 4-year retrospective study

Human Remains Identification Using Micro-CT, Chemometric and A.I. Methods in Forensic Experimental Reconstruction of Dental Patterns after Concentrated Acid Significant Impact

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