Correlation between height and hand size,and predicting height on the basis of age,gender and hand size

Objective: to find out the correlation between hand size and height,as well as to formulate a regression equation for predicting height on the basis of age,hand size and gender. material and methods: this correlational study was conducted in the physiology department of khyber medical college from 1stjanuary to 20th april 2017. it is based on 194 students of 2nd year mbbs. the subjects were randomly allocated into a devising/developmental group and a cross validation group. a formula was devised from the developmental group,using linear regression analysis to find out predicted height (ph). it was tested on the cross validation group. results: the average male height was 173.7cm and hand length was 18.85 cm. female height was recorded as164.6cm and hand length as 17cm. the correlation between hand length and height came out to be positive,p<0.001 in both genders. the formula derived is: height cm = 176.81848- 2.77758 * age (years) + 2.33909 * hand size(cm) +6.11263 * gender (gender: women=0,men=1). the difference in the means of actual heights and the predicted heights was 2.9cm. conclusion: the formula devised to predict height from hand length; gender and age can validly predict height up to an accuracy of 2.9 cm. this can also be used in clinical setup wherever height prediction is required. © 2017,khyber medical college. all rights reserved.