Verification of the applicability of auricular parameters in differentiation between adult Egyptians and Malaysians

Background: External ear morphoscopic and morphometric characteristics are valuable in clinical fields. In forensic practice, auricular parameters proved to be sexually dimorphic. However, the role of the external ear in ethnic determination gained limited attention. Objectives: Verification of the applicability of external ear parameters in differentiation between adult Egyptians and Malaysians. Methodology: The study included 160 adult subjects (80 Egyptians and 80 Malaysians) who were equally divided between both sexes. Seven measurements were obtained for the left auricle using a digital vernier caliper as follows: ear length, ear width, base of auricle, lobular length, lobular width, conchal length, and conchal width. Then, ear, lobular, lobule ear, and conchal indices were calculated. Results: Regarding males; ear length, ear width, base of auricle, lobular length, lobular width, conchal width, ear index, and conchal index were significantly higher in Egyptians. Ear width yielded the highest accuracy for population determination using logistic regression (81.3%) and Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curve analyses (Area Under Curve ‘AUC’=0.856). The best result was obtained when the eight significant parameters were included in one regression model (Accuracy = 86.3% and AUC = 0.923). While for females; ear length, ear width, base of auricle, lobular length, and conchal width were significantly higher in Egyptians. Only the lobular index was significantly higher in Malaysian females. Ear width achieved the highest accuracy using logistic regression (72.5%) and ROC curve analyses (AUC=0.773). The best result was obtained when the six significant parameters were included in one regression model (Accuracy = 76.3% and AUC = 0.828). Conclusion: The auricular parameters can be used as a valuable tool in differentiation between Egyptians and Malaysians with reasonable accuracies in both sexes.