Statistical Interpretation in Making DNA-based Identifications of Mass Victims.
- Author:
Kyoung Jin SHIN
1
;
Hwan Young LEE
;
Woo Ick YANG
;
Eunho HA
Author Information
1. Department of Forensic Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords:
mass victims;
kinship;
relatives;
probability;
likelihood;
allele drop-out;
cold hit
- MeSH:
Alleles;
Cold Temperature;
Disasters;
DNA;
Humans
- From:Korean Journal of Legal Medicine
2008;32(1):55-60
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
DNA profiles have been increasingly used as the most reliable means to identify remains from war or mass disaster. To establish the identity with such a large set of victims, special care should be taken to correlate remains with correct family references while avoiding coincidental match between non-relatives. Therefore we address here relevant statistical and combinatorial issues in the DNA identification of mass victims. A simple and general formula for the likelihood ratio governing any potential kinship between two DNA profiles was presented, and for that purpose, the probabilities that a given relative and an individual share autosomal identical-bydescent alleles were calculated. In addition, a method dealing with the allele drop-out in kinship analysis and the estimation of a cold hit were discussed.