Authors Ramsha Urooj Baig Department of Forensic Medicine, Dow University of health sciences Ramlah Naz Department of Forensic Medicine, Dow University of health sciences Mehreen Fatima Department of Forensic Medicine, Dow University of health sciences Zille-Huma Department of Internal Medicine, Dow University of health sciences. Munazza Obaid Suharwardy Department of Community Medicine, Dow University of health sciences Shaikh Jehanzaib Saeed Aga Khan University. Fouzia Naeem Effendi Department of Community Medicine, Bahria University health sciences Inam E Khuda Department of Neurology, Dow University of Health sciences. Keywords: Anthropometry, personal identification, sexual dimorphism, Hand measurement, Sex determination. Abstract

Objective: To identify the presence or absence of sexual dimorphism using hand measurements alone in people from Pakistan. Moreover, to identify the variable that can be better at predicting sex among the rest of hand measurements.

Methods: The research involved 122 male and 182 female participants, ranging in age from 18 to 60 years, without any hand deformities or missing fingers. Each participant underwent a set of hand measurements, including hand breadth, which was measured in a linear line from the lateral-most end on the head of the second metacarpal to the medial end on the head of the fifth metacarpal in centimeters. Additionally, hand length measured to be as the direct distance from the midpoint of the distal wrist crease to the top most point of the middle finger in centimeters. Logistic regression was used to analyze six hand measurements on the likelihood of prediction of the male or female gender

Results: The logistic regression model showed statistical significance, ÷2 = 19.502, p < .012. The model explained 58.0% (Nagelkerke R2) of the variance in gender and accurately identified 84.2% of cases. A statistically substantial disparity was evident in hand measurements and hand indices across genders. (P-value=.0001).

Conclusion: Our study reveals the presence of sexual dimorphism in hand morphometric parameters among the population of Pakistan. Hand measurements prove to be a reliable indicator for predicting gender in the majority of cases. Nevertheless, relying on a single hand measurement may not yield accurate gender predictions. Instead, a combination of various hand measurements can enhance the overall reliability of gender prediction.

Author Biographies Ramlah Naz, Department of Forensic Medicine, Dow University of health sciences

Associate Professor,

Department of Forensic Medicine,

Mehreen Fatima, Department of Forensic Medicine, Dow University of health sciences

Assistant Professor,

Department of Forensic Medicine,

Zille-Huma, Department of Internal Medicine, Dow University of health sciences.

Assistant Professor,

Department of Medicine,

Munazza Obaid Suharwardy, Department of Community Medicine, Dow University of health sciences

Assistant Professor,

Department of Community Medicine,

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