Investigations on the reliability of determining an individual's age from the proximal femur

In the context of individual identifications the reliable determination of age is important. It has been suggested that the femur is appropriate for reliably determining age and excellent results were indeed claimed but calculated errors of estimation were often missing in the studies. In order to check the reliability and validity for forensic diagnostics, two independent investigators who were not informed of the actual age of the femur specimens evaluated x-ray views of 90 femurs according to methods described in the literature. The results of the two investigators differed by maximally 5 years in 64.4% of all cases examined; the average error of estimation amounted to 10.1-17.0 years. Only one-seventh of all cases examined could be precisely grouped into the 5-year class. Deviations of more than 15 years occurred in nearly one fourth of all cases. In particular, individuals over 50 years of age were estimated as being much younger. We must therefore conclude that the method under examination is only appropriate for rough estimations of age. A more accurate estimation within a five-year interval is only rarely possible.