There have been many incidents in the past in many countries around the world in which age has to be determined according to medical procedures.
A recent incident is the case of Dua Zahra, a teenage girl from Karachi, in which, according to Pakistani media, the court has ordered to determine the age.
Methods of determining the age
Dr. Sami Jamali, former director of Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, told The Independent that a person's age can be determined by his bones, teeth, and pelvis.
According to him, different methods are used in different cases.
Dr. Javed Akram, Vice-Chancellor, University of Health Sciences, said that most of the age of a person is determined by a wrist x-ray.
The Department of Radiology performs a special type of X-ray that shows the age of the bone.
"It's not 100 percent accurate, but it's very accurate, which helps a lot in determining age."
Dr. Fazal Rabi, a former radiologist at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and a consultant at Luqman International Hospital, told The Independent: The third method is to check the level of aspartic acid through the teeth. But the most important arrow is the analysis of teeth.
Determining age by teeth
He said that teeth coming out at the age of 12, 14, 16, and 18 make it clear what age a person can be.
Teeth have their own names, including the first molar, the second molar, and the third molar teeth. The third molar usually begins at age 18.
Dr. Fazal Rabi said, “The dental surgeon usually determines the age of a person by looking at the age listed in the identity card or B form and if a person has a third molar tooth, then he/she may be 18 years of age or more. But this is not a line drawn on a rock. Some people's third molar still erupts after 18 years.
Dr. Fazal said that the tests performed for determining age can clearly explain the age difference of one or two years. However, it is not possible to measure the difference over a few months. However, if there is an expert, he can say something based on his experience. It is not possible to determine the exact age based on the test.
Also read: Youngest Mothers In The World Aged Less Than 11
Determining age by bone test
The radiologist said, "If there is any doubt about the dental examination or test, then an X-ray of the wrists or bones should be done."
According to him, bones have a 'maturity'. The age at which bone 'epiphyses' (the end of the bone and then its shaft) intersect is observed. At the very end of the human body, the clavicle matures, which can be determined by the age of the person.
Experts say that after examination of human genitals and analysis of bones and teeth, the age of any human being can be estimated up to 95% accurately.
According to Dr. Fazal Rabi, it is not necessary to determine the age (fusion) of the ends of the bones to be attached to the shaft or the middle part of it.
Medical experts say in Asia the average age of an educated family is low. They come across cases in which educated families want children or young people to be underage so that they can stay longer in government or non-government jobs.
In contrast, laborers often test their children to increase their age so that they can be made to work at an early age. Most of the migrant workers who go abroad come for such tests and they want their age to be shown as 21 years so that they can fulfill the condition of working age abroad.
When was the first age determination required?
In Pakistan, the court may have needed to determine the age of a person for the first time, but in Pakistan, this need has been felt in the field of sports this year. In addition, age determination tests have been conducted in the field of sports at the international level.
Determining age in cricket?
Most recently, on January 17, 2022, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) suspended the national U-13 and U-16 tournaments on the grounds of age fraud.
The PCB said it would conduct the third round of the tournament after conducting further age verification tests by bone to ensure that "only deserving cricketers are included in the respective age group competitions".
Nadeem had said in a statement, "After visual inspection, it has been confirmed that some older cricketers were participating in U-13 and U-16 tournaments. It was the right thing to do, to suspend events and get new-age tests done through the bones."
Why is it necessary to determine age in football?
An article was published in the National Library of Medicine on March 8, 2007, in which the objectives and results of an MRI of the wrist of the participants of international football under-17 competitions are presented.
The article states that MRI scans were performed on the wrists of 189 players who were participating in the Under-17 matches of the 2003 and 2005 World Cups.
According to the article, 71% of athletes over the age of 17 had bone fusion more complete than fusion at that age.
This article concludes that under-17 soccer players are more mature than others in the same age population.
It was also revealed that the age of the players written in the official document did not match the test results and was not correct in the case of all the players.