Forensic anthropological examinations are important in establishing the identity of an individual by developing a biological profile. This study aims to establish population-specific standards for estimation of sex from the sternal ends of ribs in a Nepalese population. A quantitative, observational study examining the left fourth ribs of 387 Nepalese deceased (106 females, 281 males) was conducted between November 2021 and March 2023. The variables examined included maximum superior-inferior height, maximum anterior-posterior breadth and pit depth. These variables were tested in order to develop models for prediction of sex. All variables were found to have non-normal distribution, and non-parametric tests were used.
The study found statistically significant differences in all morphometric measurements of the left fourth rib between the sexes using Mann Whitney U test (p<0.001). However, binary logistic regression analysis as well as discriminant function analysis showed only maximum superior-inferior height of the left fourth rib to have good accuracy. Prediction models developed for estimation of sex from maximum superior-inferior height of left fourth rib using binary logistic regression and discriminant function analyses showed good accuracy (84.2% and 81.7% respectively).