PREDICTION OF STATURE FROM ARM-SPAN MEASUREMENTS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF COLLEGE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE AND TEACHING HOSPITAL, CHITWAN.

Introduction: Identification of an individual is the necessity during mass disasters and becomes troublesome when decomposed, mutilated or only fragmentary remains of body part are discovered. In such circumstance, stature forms a basis for identification of obscured deceased bodies. Various anthropometric measurements of different body parts (head, trunk, upper and lower limb) have been used to estimate the stature accurately, among which, arm-span has been considered as one of the most valid parameter. Aim: To formulate the regression equations to estimate the stature from arm-span. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in 197 students consisting of 100 females and 97 males, in College of Medical Science, Bharatpur, Nepal. Height and arm-span of each student were measured with Stadiometer and calibrated steel tape respectively. The data was analysed using SPSS version 16.0. Results: The mean values of arm-span and height were statistically higher in males than in females (p\u3c0.05). The arm-span and height showed strong positive correlation with each other in both sexes and the correlation was significant (p\u3c0.05). The coefficients of determination were 0.656 and 0.712 in males and females respectively, indicating that predicting stature, when taking into account arm-span is higher in both sexes. The calculated height (computed using regression equations) revealed no significant difference from the observed height in both male and female students (p\u3e0.05). Conclusion: This study provides regression equations to estimate stature from the arm-span measurements, as arm-span is a reliable predictor of stature