Assessment of renal glomerulosclerosis and thickness of the carotid intima-media complex as a means of age estimation in Western European bodies

Abstract

Introduction The estimation of age-at-death of unidentified cadavers is a central aspect of the identification process. With increasing age, the incidence of glomerulosclerosis and the thickness of the carotid wall have been observed to also increase. This correlation has been demonstrated in various international histological studies. The aim of our study was to assess whether these correlations also apply to a Western European population. Methodology In this retrospective observational study, kidney and common carotid artery samples from 216 cases autopsied at the Institute of Legal Medicine at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, were examined. Only cases with available tissue samples from both body sides were included. Exclusion criteria were poor sample quality and an age younger than 21 years. After histological processing, the tissue samples were assessed and digitally evaluated. Regression and classification analyses were used to investigate the correlation between age-at-death and intima-media thickness and age-at-death and the incidence of renal glomerular sclerosis. Results Of the 216 autopsy cases, 183 were included for evaluation. Analysis of the carotid artery segments showed a strong correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.887) between the intima-media-complex thickness and chronological age. Classification of the glomerulosclerotic incidence showed a correlation of 37.7–43.1% with the predicted age group. Discussion Both the intima-media thickness and the proportion of sclerotic glomeruli can be used to estimate age in Western European cadavers. On the basis of these results, both methods are suited to supplement other already established methods for age-at-death estimation in the identification of an unknown cadaver.

Ovarian Weight and Uterine Volume Index Are Useful for Age Estimation in Adult Women

“…Additionally, Lehmann-Leo et al measured the intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery and examined the correlation between the age and this thickness. The result suggested that the intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery was highly correlated with age (r = 0.887) [12].…”

“…As previously mentioned, if only some body parts of an individual are found, we can estimate the person's age using several materials, such as the myocardium, abdominal aorta, and common carotid artery, with higher accuracy [12][13][14][15]. Horny et al measured the length of the abdominal aorta during autopsies before and after segment resection.…”

“…Furthermore, the biomechanical properties and circumference of the abdominal aorta correlated well with age [14,15]. For the lumbar region and retroperitoneal space, the proportion of glomeruli with hyaline deposits is known to increase with age [12]. Regarding male genital organs, the prostate was the focus for finding relations to the age.…”

“…Previous studies have reported relationships between the various features of organs or tissues and the age. In the neck, the intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery is measured histologically, with a high correlation observed between age and this thickness value [12]. Some methods have been developed for estimating age from the organs or tissues in the thoraco-abdominal region.…”

“…Therefore, we focused on use of the pelvic organs, particularly the uterus and ovaries. Because the uterus and ovaries are female reproductive organs, they can reportedly change according to hormone levels [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Therefore, the morphological features of the uterus and ovaries can depend on a person's age.…”