Abstract
The demand of forensic age determination in living individuals deals mostly with juvenile or subadults because in most European countries, the legally relevant age limit ranges between the 14th and 21st year of life. Among the variety of scientific procedures available in age assessment, there is wide agreement that methods based on sexual, skeletal, and dental maturity are suitable. Unfortunately, there are obviously problems with using “age” in a system measuring maturity and therefore, biological age (sexual, dental, or skeletal) does not always correspond to chronological age (legal). None of the modern techniques is both easy to use and practical, as most of them result in a slight over- or underestimation, depending on the applied method, the range of human variation between sex and population, and discrepancies between biological and legal age. The margin of error can be substantial in living individuals, sometimes by as much 2–3 yr either side, or at best, 12 mo, even by combined methods. The physician should use all the available evidence, including multiple maturity indicators, and must approach each case with caution, because the poor correlation between maturity and chronological age represents a fundamental limitation to age-determination practices in forensic settings.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Schmeling, A., Olze, A., Reisinger, W., Geserick, G. Age estimation of living people undergoing criminal proceedings. Lancet 358:89–90, 2001.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Guidelines on policies and procedures in dealing with unaccompanied children seeking asylum. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, February 1997.
Schmeling, A., Olze, A., Reisinger, W., Geserick, G. Forensic age estimation of living people undergoing criminal proceedings. Forensic Sci. Int. 144:243–245, 2004.
Vaughan III, C., Litt, I. F. Developmental pediatrics: assessment of growth and development. In: Behrman, R. E., Vaughan III, C., eds., Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 13th Ed., WB Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 24–33, 1987.
Pietrobelli, A., Faith, M. S., Allison, D. B., Gallagher, D., Chiumello, G., Heymsfield, S. B. Body mass index as a measure of adiposity among children and adolescents: a validation study. J. Pediatr. 132:204–210, 1998.
Marshall, W. A., Tanner, J. M. Variations in pattern of pubertal changes in girls. Arch. Dis. Child. 44:291–303, 1969.
Marshall, W. A., Tanner, J. M. Variations in pattern of pubertal changes in boys. Arch. Dis. Child. 45:13–23, 1970.
Feik, S. A., Glover, J. E. Growth of children’s faces. In: Clement, J. G., Ranson, D. L., Ranson, D., eds., Craniofacial Identification in Forensic Medicine. Arnold, London, pp. 203–224, 1998.
Iscan, M. Y., Kennedy, K. A. R. Reconstruction of life from the skeleton. Liss, New York, pp. 109–127; 191-200, 201-222, 1989.
Tanner, J. M., Whitehouse, R. H. Clinical longitudinal standards for height, weight, height velocity and weight velocity and stages of puberty. Arch. Dis. Child. 51:170–179, 1976.
Hammer, L. D., Kraemer, H. C., Wilson, D. M., Ritter, P. L., Dornbusch, S. M. Standardized percentile curves of body-mass index for children and adolescents. Am. J. Dis. Child. 145:259–263, 1991.
Valadian, I., Porter D. Physical Growth and Development from Conception to Maturity. Little Brown, Boston, MA, 1977.
Wright, C. M., Booth, I. W., Buckler, J. M. H., et al. Growth reference charts for use in the United Kingdom. Arch. Dis. Child. 86:11–14, 2002.
Krogman, W. M., Iscan, M. Y. The Human Skeleton in Forensic Medicine. Charles C. Thomas Publisher, Springfield, IL, pp. 50–102, 1986.
Hagg, U., Matsson, L. Dental maturity as an indicator of chronologic age. The accuracy and precision of three methods. Eur. J. Orthod. 7:25–34, 1985.
Mincer, H. H., Harris, E. F., Berryman, H. E. Molar development as an estimator of chronologic age. In: Bowers, C. M., Bell, G. L., eds., Manual of Forensic Odontology, 3rd Ed. American Society of Forensic Odontology, Saratoga Springs, NY, 86–89, 1997.
Mincer, H. H., Harris, E. F., Berryman, H. E. The ABFO study of third molar development and the use as an estimator of chronological age. J. Forensic Sci. 38:379–390, 1993.
Kullman, L., Johanson, G., Akesson, L. Root development of the lower third molar and its relation to chronological age. Swed. Dent. J. 16:161–167, 1992.
Levesque, G.-Y., Demirjian, A., Tanguay, R. Sexual dimorphism in the development, emergence and agenesis of the mandibular third molar. J. Dent. Res. 60:1735–1741, 1981.
Gleiser, I., Hunt, Jr., E. E. The permanent mandibular first molar: its calcification, eruption and decay. Am. J. Phys. Anth. 13:253–281, 1955.
Demirjian, A., Goldstein, H., Tanner, J. M. A new system of dental age assessment. Hum. Biol. 45:211–227, 1973.
Mesotten, K., Gunst, K., Carbonez, A., Willems, G. Dental age estimation and third molars: a preliminary study. Forensic Sci. Int. 129:110–115, 2002.
Solari, A., Abramovitch, K. The accuracy and precision of third molar development as an indicator of chronological age in Hispanics. J. Forensic Sci. 47:531–535, 2002.
Gunst, K., Mesotten, K., Carbonez, A., Willems, G. Third molar root development in relation to chronological age: a large sample sized retrospective study. Forensic Sci. Int. 136:52–57, 2003.
Foti, B., Layls, L, Adalian, P., et al. New forensic approach to age determination in children based on tooth eruption. Forensic Sci. Int. 132:49–56, 2003.
Thorson. J., Hagg, U. The accuracy and precision of the mandibular molar as an indicator of chronological age. Swed. Dent. J. 15:15–22, 1991.
Kullman, L. Accuracy of two dental and one skeletal age estimation method in Swedish adolescents. Forensic Sci. Int. 75:225–236, 1995.
Tanner, J. M. Physical growth and development. In: Forfar, J. O., Arnell, C. C. eds., Textbook of Pediatrics, 2nd Ed. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, pp. 249–303, 1978.
Liversidge, H. M., Herdeg, B., Rosing, F. W. Dental age estimation of non-adults: a review of methods and principals. In: Alt, K. W., Rosing, F. W., Teschler-Nicola, M., eds., Dental Anthropology. Fundamentals, Limits and Prospects. Springer, Vienna, pp. 420–422, 1998.
Ubelaker, D. H. The estimation of age at death from immature human bone. In: Iscan, M. Y. Ed., Age Markers in the Human Skeleton. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, pp. 55–70, 1989.
Lovejoy, C. O., Meindl, R. S., Mensforth, R. P., Barton, T. J. Multifactorial determination of skeletal age at death: a method and blind tests of its accuracy. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol., 68:1–14, 1985.
Rősing, F. W., Kvaal, S. I. Dental age in adults: a review of estimation methods. In: Alt, K. W., Rosing, F. W., Teschler-Nicola, M. eds., Dental Anthropology. Fundamentals, Limits and Prospects. Springer, Vienna, pp. 443–468, 1998.
Helm, S. Relationship between dental and skeletal maturation in Danish schoolchildren. Scand. J. Dent. Res. 98:313–317, 1990.
Cox, L. A. The biology of bone maturation and ageing. Acta Paediatr. 423:S107–S108, 1997.
Zerin, J. M., Hernandez RJ. Approach to skeletal maturation. Hand Clin. 7:53–62, 1991.
Greulich, W. W., Pyle, S. I. Radiographic Atlas of Skeletal Development of the Hand and Wrist, 2nd Ed. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, pp. 9–13, 1959.
Ubelaker, D. H. Estimating age at death from immature human skeletons: an overview. J. Forensic Sci. 32:1254–1263, 1987.
Loder, R. T., Estle, D. T., Morrison, K., et al. Applicability of the Greulich and Pyle skeletal age standards to black and white children of today. Am. J. Dis. Child. 147:1329–1333, 1993.
Ontell, F. K., Ivanovic, M., Ablin, D. S., Barlow, T. W. Bone age in children of diverse ethnicity. Am. J. Roentgenol. 167:1395–1398, 1996.
Mora, S., Boechat, M. I., Pietka, E., Huang, H. K., Gilsanz, V. Skeletal age determinations in children of European and African descent: applicability of the Greulich and Pyle standards. Pediatr. Res. 50:624–628, 2001.
Tanner, J. M., Whitehouse, R. H., Marshall, W. A., Healy, M. J. R., Goldstein, H. Assessment of skeletal maturity and prediction of adult height (TW2 method). Academic, London, 1975.
Acheson, R. M. A method of assessing skeletal maturity from radiographs. A report from Oxford Child Health Survey. J. Anat. 88:498–515, 1954.
Roche, A. F., Johnson, J. M. A comparison between methods of calculating skeletal age (Greulich-Pyle). Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 30:221–230, 1969.
Roche, A. F., Davila, G. H. The reliability of assessments of the maturity of individual hand-wrist bones. Hum. Biol. 48:585–590, 1976.
Bull, R. K., Edwards, P. D., Kemp, P. M., Fry, S., Hughes, I. A. Bone age assessment: a large scale comparison of the Greulich and Pyle, and Tanner and Whitehouse (TW2) methods. Arch. Dis. Child. 81:172–173, 1999.
King, D. G., Stevenson, D. M., O’Sullivan, M. P., et al. Reproducibility of bone ages when performed by radiology registrars: an audit of Tanner and Whitehouse II versus Greulich and Pyle methods. Br. J. Radiol. 67:848–851, 1994.
Cox, L. A. Tanner-Whitehouse method of assessing skeletal maturity: problems and common errors. Horm. Res, 45:53–55, 1996.
Sorg, M. H., Andrews, R. P., Iscan, M. Y. Radiographic aging of the adult. In: Iscan, M. Y., ed., Age Markers in the Human Skeleton. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, pp. 169–193, 1989.
Drennen, M. R., Keen, J. A. Identity. In: Gordon, I., Turner, R., Price, T. W., eds., Medical Jurisprudence. Livingston, Edinburgh, pp. 336–372, 1953.
Krogman, W. M., Iscan, M. Y. The human skeleton in forensic medicine. Charles C. Thomas Publisher, Springfield, IL, 458–479, 1986.
Tanner, J. M., Gibbons, R. D. Automatic bone age measurement using computerized image analysis. J Pedriatr. Endocrinol. 7:141–145, 1994.
Tanner, J. M., Gibbons, R. D. A computerized image analysis system for estimating Tanner-Whitehouse 2 bone age. Horm. Res. 42:282–287, 1994.
Frisch, H., Riedl, S., Waldhor, T. Computer-aided estimation of skeletal age and comparison with bone age evaluations by the method of Greulich-Pyle and Tanner-Whitehouse. Pediatr. Radiol. 26:226–231, 1996.
Niemeijer, M., van Ginneken, B., Maas, C., Beek, F. J. A., Viergever, M. A. Assessing the skeletal age from a hand radiograph: automating the Tanner-Whitehouse method. In: Sonka, M., Fitzpatrick, J. M. eds., Medical Imaging 2003: Image Processing. SPIE, pp. 1197–1205, 2003.
Roche, A. F., Chumlea, W. C., Thissen, D. Assessing the skeletal maturity of the hand-wrist: FELS method. Springfield, IL,: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, 1988.
Gilli, G. The assessment of skeletal maturation. Horm. Res. 45:45–52, 1996.
Tanner, J. M., Healy, M. J. R., Goldstein, H., Cameron, N. Assessment of skeletal maturity and prediction of adult height (TW3 method). Saunders, 2001.
Ferraro, N. F. Comment to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regarding determination of chronological age using bone age and dental age standards. Public comment on proposed Rule at 64 FR 39759 (INS No. 1906-98) In: From Persecution to Prison: The Health Consequences of Detention for Asylum Seekers. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), June 2003. Also available on the PHR website at http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/asylum_network/detention_execSummary/ detention_pdf.pdf. Last accessed on Feb. 15, 2006.
Van Lenthe, F. J., Kemper, H. C., van Mechelen, W. Skeletal maturation in adolescence: a comparison between the Tanner-Whitehouse II and the Fels method. Eur. J. Pediatr. 157:798–801, 1998.
Baer, M. J. Growth and maturation. An introduction to physical development. Doyle, Cambridge, MA, 1977.
Schmitt, A., Murail, P., Cunha, E., Rougé, D. Variability of the pattern of aging on the human skeleton: evidence from bone indicators and implications on age at death estimation. J. Forensic Sci. 47:1203–1209, 2002.
Johnston, F. E., Zimmer, L. O. Assessment of growth and age in the immature skeleton. In: Iscan, M. Y., Kennedy, K. A. R., eds., Reconstruction of Life from the Skeleton. Liss, New York, NY, pp. 11–40, 1989.
Rona, R., Chinn, S. The national study of health and growth. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1999.
Kuczmarski, R. J., Ogden, C. L., Guo, S. S., et al. CDC growth charts for the United States: methods and development. Vital Health Stat. 11:1–190, 2002.
Cameron, N. British growth charts for height and weight with recommendations concerning their use in auxological assessment. Ann. Hum. Biol. 29:1–10, 2002.
Ubelaker, D. H. Methodological consideration in the forensic applications of human skeletal biology. In: Katzenberg, M. A., Saunders, S. R. eds., Biological Anthropology of the Human Skeleton. Wiley-Liss, New York, NY, pp. 41–67, 2000.
Himes, J. H. Bone growth and development in protein-calorie malnutrition. World Rev. Nutr. Diet. 28:143–187, 1978.
Schmeling, A., Reisinger, W., Loreck, D., Vendura, K., Markus, W., Geserick, G. Effects of ethnicity on skeletal maturation: consequences for forensic age estimations. Int. J. Legal Med. 113:253–58, 2000.
Olze, A., Schmeling, A., Taniguchi, M., et al. Forensic age estimation in living subjects: the ethnic factor in wisdom tooth mineralization. Int. J. Legal Med. 118:170–173, 2004.
Meindl, R. S., Lovejoy, C. O. Ectocranial suture closure: a revised method for the determination of skeletal age at death based on the lateral-anterior sutures. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 68:57–66, 1985.
Bedford, M. E., Russel, K. F., Lovejoy, C. O., et al. Test of the multifactorial aging method using skeleton with known age-at-death from the Grant collection. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 91:287–297, 1993.
Pfau, R. O., Sciulli, P. W. A method for establishing the age of subadults. J. Forensic Sci. 39:165–176, 1994.
Baccino, E., Ubelaker, D. H., Hayek, L.-A., Zerilli, A. Evaluation of seven methods of estimating age at death from mature human skeletal remains. J. Forensic Sci. 44:931–936, 1999.
Reichs, K. J., Demirjian, A. A multimedia tool for the assessment of age in immature remains: the electronic encyclopedia for maxillo-facial, dental and skeletal development. In: Reichs, K. J., Ed., Forensic Osteology. Advances in the Identification of Human Remains. Charles C. Thomas Publisher, Springfield, IL, pp. 253–267, 1998.
Ritz-Timme, S., Cattaneo, C., Collins, M. J., et al. Age estimation: the state of the art in relation to the specific demands of forensic practise. Int. J. Legal Med. 113:129–136, 2000.
Schmeling, A., Olze, A., Reisinger, W., Konig, M., Geserick, G. Statistical analysis and verification of forensic age estimation of living persons in the Institute of Legal Medicine of the Berlin University Hospital Charité. Legal Med. 5:S367–S371, 2003.
Soomer, H., Ranta, H., Lincoln, M. J., Penttila, A., Leibur, E. Reliability and validity of eight dental age. Estimation methods for adults. J. Forensic Sci. 48:149–152, 2003.
Pludowski, P., Lebiedowski, M., Lorenc, R. S. Evaluation of the possibility to assess bone age on the basis of DXA derived hand scans preliminary results. Osteoporos Int. 15:317–322, 2004.
Watt, I., Faculty of Clinical radiology. Letter ref. BFCR 9 to all Home Clinical radiology Fellows and Members, 1996.
Ritz, S., Stock, R., Schutz, H. W., Kaatsch, H.-J. Age estimation in biopsy specimens of dentin. Int. J. Legal Med. 108:135–139, 1995.
Letter from American Leaders in Dentistry, Medicine, and Psychology Expressing Concern Over Irresponsible Age Determination Practices Affecting the Lives of Young Immigrants, Including Asylum Seekers to the Department of Homeland Security. Available on the Physicians for Human Rights website at http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/asylum_network/pdf/age-testingletter.pdf. Last accessedv on Feb. 15, 2006.
Maples, W. R. The practical application of age-estimation techniques. In: Iscan, M. Y., Ed., Age Markers in the Human Skeleton. Charles C. Thomas Publishers, Springfield, IL, pp. 319–324, 1989.
Levenson, R., Sharma, A. The health of refugee children. Guidelines for Paediatricians. Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, London, 1999.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Introna, F., Campobasso, C.P. (2006). Biological vs Legal Age of Living Individuals. In: Schmitt, A., Cunha, E., Pinheiro, J. (eds) Forensic Anthropology and Medicine. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-099-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-099-7_4
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-824-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-099-7
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)