Estimation of height in a quilombola community in northeastern Brazil using anthropometric measurements of the hands

Abstract Background Estimating or predicting height, using fragments of the body or components of the human skeleton, for this purpose, originates from the idea of proportionality between the different parts of the body. The aim of this study is to estimate height from anthropometric measurements of the hands (length and width). The sample consisted of 300 individuals from a quilombola community in northeastern Brazil, 150 males and 150 females. All people from the quilombola community, enjoying good general health, were included, and those people who, presented deformities of the hand, spine and lower limbs were excluded. Result The correlation coefficients between height and hand length values were positive and moderate. As for females, the correlation between height and lengths of the right and left hands were respectively 0.574 (p < 0.0001) and 0.612 (p < 0.0001). Conclusion The measure that best correlated with height in the quilombola community in northeastern Brazil was hand length for both sexes, with the highest correlation for females.