Estimation of Stature from Hand and Foot Dimensions of Annang Indigene of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Stature is a significant anthropometric determinant of the physical identity of an individual. Aim: This study was carried out to estimate stature of Nigerian Annang indigenes of Akwa Ibom State from hand and foot dimensions. Methods: Two hundred (200) adults Annang indigenes (100 male and female each) were randomly selected for this study. Hand and foot dimensions were obtained by direct linear measurements using a 150mm digital vernier caliper (with accuracy of 0.01mm); while stature was determined by stadiometric measurement of the height (to the nearest 0.1m). Measurements obtained include; second (2D), fourth digit (4D) and right foot length (RFL). All measurement were converted to centimeters (cm). SPSS (IBM® version 20, Armonk, New York, USA) t-test was to evaluate gender difference in the measured dimensions; while Pearson's correlation and Generalized Linear Modeling were used to derive Regression equation for estimation of stature from the measured dimensions. The significance level was set at 95% as P≤0.05 was considered significant. Results: The t-test showed that males displayed significantly higher mean values than the females for all measured parameters (P<0.001). Single regression sex specific regression formulae were derived and the result showed that better prediction (r) values were obtained for females F (2D=0.428, 4D=0.430, RFL=0.587; P<0.01) population when compared to males M (2D=0.319, 4D=0.231, RFL=0.456; P<0.05). Conclusion: This study suggests the existence of sexual difference in hand and foot dimension and also the possibility of accurately estimating stature from the right foot length, right second and fourth digit.