Correlation of lip patterns, gender, and blood group in North Kerala population: A study of over 800 individuals

Cheiloscopy in sex estimation: a systematic review

This study aimed to conduct a systematic review to gather evidence to clarify if cheiloscopy can be used in sex estimation and identify the reasons behind the lack of consensus in the scientific community. The systematic review was performed following the PRISMA guidelines. A bibliographic survey was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, restricted to articles published between 2010 and 2020. Studies were selected according to eligibility criteria, and then the study data were collected. The risk of bias in each study was assessed and applied as additional inclusion or exclusion criteria. The results of the articles eligible for analysis were synthesized using a descriptive approach. In the 41 included studies, several methodological flaws and variations between studies that contribute to the discrepancy in results were identified. The data gathered allowed us to conclude that there is no strong scientific evidence to support the use of cheiloscopy in sex estimation, as there is no specific pattern for each sex, which reduces the criminalistic interest of cheiloscopy in estimating this parameter.

The weak evidence of lip print analysis for sexual dimorphism in forensic dentistry: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of lip print patterns among males and females, and to test the diagnostic accuracy of lip pattern analysis for sexual dimorphism in forensic dentistry. A systematic literature review was performed following the PRISMA guidelines. The search was performed in six primary databases and three databases to cover part of the grey literature. Observational and diagnostic accuracy studies that investigated lip print patterns through cheiloscopy for sexual dimorphism were selected. Risk of bias was assessed with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) tool. Proportion meta-analysis using random effects was fitted to pool the accuracy of cheiloscopy. The odds of correctly identifying males and females was assessed through a random effects meta-analysis. GRADE approach was used to assess certainty of evidence. The search found 3,977 records, published between 1982 and 2019. Seventy-two studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were included in the qualitative analysis (n = 22,965 participants), and twenty-two studies were sampled for meta-analysis. Fifty studies had low risk of bias. Suzuki and Tsuchihashi's technique was the most prevalent among studies. The accuracy of sexual dimorphism through cheiloscopy ranged between 52.7 and 93.5%, while the pooled accuracy was 76.8% (95% CI = 65.8; 87.7). There was no difference between the accuracy to identify males or females (OR = 0.71; 95% CI = 0.26; 1.99). The large spectrum of studies on sexual dimorphism via cheiloscopy depicted accuracy percentage rates that rise uncertainty and concern. The unclear performance of the technique could lead to wrong forensic practice.