Age- and Sex-Dependent Changes in Hand Parameters Assessed by Hand Radiographs in Adolescents

OpenAlex İngilizce

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the hand and gender-related development of the hand anatomy by using hand-related morphometric variables obtained from radiographic images of healthy adolescents.Materials and Methods: A total of 120 females and 120 males between the ages of 7 and 18 who referred to Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University İzzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital in 2023 were included in this retrospective study. Participants were divided into 4 groups according to their ages: 7-9, 10-12, 13-15 and 16-18. After the images taken with DICOM format in PACS system were transferred to Radiant Dicom Viewer (RDV) program, 14 linear and 2 angular variables determined were measured. The variables are as follows: length of phalanx I (LPI), length of phalanx II (LPII), length of phalanx III (LPIII), length of phalanx IV (LPIV), length of phalanx V(LPV), length of metacarpal I (LMI), length of metacarpal II (LMII), length of metacarpal III (LMIII), length of metacarpal IV (LMIV), length of metacarpal V (LMV), hand length (HL), hand width (HW), carpal height (CH), maximum hand breadth (MHB), radial angle (RA), ulnar angle (UA).Results: As a result of the analyses, while the difference between genders was not statistically significant in angular variables, significant results were found in linear variables. In terms of genders, statistically significant difference was found between the individuals forming the third and fourth group in the variables LPI, LPII, LPIII, LPIV, LPV, LMII, LMIII, LMIV, HL, between the individuals forming the fourth group in LMI, LMV and RA variables and between the individuals forming the second, third and fourth groups in HW and MHB variables.Conclusion: As a result of the study, it was concluded that linear variables related with the hand showed statistically significant difference between age and gender groups. It is thought that the data obtained from the adolescents will be a reference in the evaluation of developmental stages in paediatrics and also provide morphometric data about the population for anatomists, forensic specialists and forensic anthropologists.