Gonial Angle in Forensic Anthropology to Determine Age and Gender: A Population-Specific Analysis

Background The study highlights the gonial angle as a key craniofacial landmark for age and gender determination in forensic cases. It emphasizes population-specific analysis, enhancing precision by recognizing variations between populations. By clarifying the gonial angle's forensic use, the study offers clear guidelines, improving forensic practices. Moreover, the gonial angle and age and gender correlations are thoroughly examined, offering important information on their forensic relevance. The results highlight how crucial population-specific research is to improving the precision and dependability of forensic age and gender estimation techniques, which advances forensic anthropology and supports forensic investigations around the globe. Aim and objective The purpose of this study is to assess the accuracy of age and gender estimates using gonial angles. The objectives of this research are to evaluate the precision of age and gender estimates utilizing the gonial angle. Materials and methods This present study comprises two groups based on age groups: Group I belongs to 51 to 60 years of age, and Group II belongs to 61 to 70 years of age. Making use of G-Power software (version 3.1.9.4, Düsseldorf, Germany), the sample size was determined. The calculation ensured 95% statistical power at a significance level (alpha error probability) of 0.05. To achieve sufficient statistical power, a total of 1000 samples were included, with a projected required sample size of 92. A total of 1000 samples, consisting of 500 male and 500 female panoramic radiographs, were meticulously selected for the study. The samples picked were within the age range of 51 to 70 years. Orthopantomograms were determined using Planmeca software (Planmeca Romexis®, Version 6.0, USA Inc.). Descriptive statistics, including prediction classification analysis of age and gender, were conducted using SPSS Statistics version 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Released 2007, SPSS for Windows, Version 16.0, Chicago, SPSS Inc.). Results According to this study, the mean gonial angle of males aged 51 to 60 years is larger (124.7370 degrees) than that of females (119.6371 degrees). The female group's mean estimates are more accurate, as seen by the smaller standard error (0.20844) compared to the male group's (0.60998). A statistically significant difference in mean gonial angles between the genders is evident, with males having a larger gonial angle (p-value <0.001). In the age range of 61 to 70 years, the mean gonial angle of females is higher (128.4322 degrees) than that of males (124.0529 degrees). In this instance, the male group's standard error is smaller (0.14968) than the female group's (0.30028), indicating more accurate mean estimates. Once more, a statistically significant difference is indicated by a p-value of less than 0.001, with females having a larger gonial angle than males. Conclusion Our study revealed that the gonial angle of the mandible can be considered a reliable parameter for gender identification. The study's limitation is its inability to reliably identify gender in the subadult population and in cases of edentulousness. An orthopantomogram is a trustworthy and accurate method for taking the different measurements needed to identify the gender of a particular mandible.