Abstract

Introduction: The height estimation is as important as other parameters like age, sex and race especially in medico-legal cases. The environmental and genetic factors influence the development of various parts of body. Although bilateral symmetry is a feature seen in humans, there is asymmetry in the foot length without gender or handedness bias. Aim: To study the relationship of human height with foot length and to derive a mathematical module to predict the height from foot length. Materials and Methods: This is a Cross-sectional study carried out in Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore in 234 individuals aged between 18 and 25 years of age. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and linear regression were employed for the Statistical analysis of the data Results: The overall mean foot length observed was 22.82 ±1.10 cms. There was significant difference in the mean values between right and left foot length which was statistically significant (P value = <0.001). The height showed a statistically significant positive correlation with left foot length in both males and females. Linear regression equation was derived to predict height from foot length in both males and females. Conclusion: In the present study, there was a statistically significant difference in right and left side mean foot length measurements in both sexes. A positive correlation was observed between height and foot length and left foot length had better correlation with height in both sexes. It was concluded from further analysis that other parameters need to be considered for better predictability of height.

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