Hand anthropometry survey in Iranian adults and comparisons with other populations

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Hand anthropometry is useful for designing manual systems such as hand tools, controls, and gloves. There are limited published data on the hand dimensions of Iranian male and female adults.

OBJECTIVE:

This study was undertaken to measure the hand anthropometric dimensions in Iranian adults to compare data between two genders and also with the corresponding data from other nationalities.

METHODS:

A total of 34 dimensions of the right hand were measured in 217 male and 128 female adults using a digital caliper and tape. The mean, standard deviation, and the main percentiles are summarized in a table and the mean of each dimension is compared by independent t-tests between genders. Hand dimensions are compared between Iranian and other nationalities such as North Colombian, Korean, Turkish, Nigerian, Bangladeshi, Jordanian, and Vietnamese using the published data.

RESULTS:

Females had significantly smaller hand dimensions than males in all dimensions ranged from 4.21%to 18.16%, with the largest differences in hand breadths. Compared with other nationalities, the Iranian male and female adults had wider (greater breadth and circumferences) hands with shorter fingers.

CONCLUSIONS:

The results showed significant differences of hand anthropometry between Iranian and other nationalities which should be included in the design and selection of hand tools for Iranian population.

Keywords

Anthropometric measurement hand female male

1 Introduction

Humans vary in body dimensions, proportions and shape. These variations should be understood through the measuring of the human body. Anthropometry is the branch of human sciences that deals with body measurements. Attention to the anthropometric factors could increase the worker performance and productivity [1]. In fact, application of anthropocentric principles in the design of tools, machinery, and work system could result in better performance and productivity along with better safety and comfort [2]. Anthropometric information is essential for effective designing of devices, equipment, and systems for users [3]. The mismatch between equipment and users could lead to undesirable effects such as musculoskeletal discomfort, fatigue, and lower productivity. For example, according to the “injury and illness survey 2004” conducted by U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, hand tools were associated with 4.6%of injury cases [4].

Working with inappropriately designed tools may result in different adverse outcomes such as fatigue, cumulative trauma, pain and discomforts in the upper extremities, injuries, workplace accidents and stress [5]. In contrast, the tools based on the anthropometric dimensions and ergonomic principles could be acceptable for users and provide comfort [6]. Employers are interested in providing safe and comfortable hand tools for their workers because of the problems raised by the inappropriate hand tools. The manufacturers of hand tools also know that comfort is a major selling point [7].

Anthropometric dimensions of the hand may be useful in designing of machine, hand tools, gloves, space, etc. [8]. Hand breadth at metacarpal, hand thickness at metacarpal, hand breadth at thumb, hand length, and grip breadth-inside diameter are relevant anthropometric measurements of the hand for designing hand tool handles [9]. Dianat et al. designed the handle of masons’ trowels using hand length, hand width, hand thickness, and palm length and evaluated the effects of tool handle shape on hand performance, usability and discomfort [10]. In designing gloves, hand circumference, breadth, and length are three key dimensions [11] and in a study on the U.S. fire fighters, 14 hand dimensions have been measured to enhance glove sizing [12].

The objectives of this study were to: 1) obtain the size of some important hand dimensions of male and female adults in northwestern Iran relevant in design of hand tools and equipment; 2) determine the level of variation in hand dimensions of both genders; and 3) to compare some hand dimensions with corresponding ones from other populations.

2 Methods

2.1 Study participants

There were 217 males and 128 females aged 24–60 years participated in this cross-sectional study. Roughly 90%of the subjects were right-handed. Subjects were selected by simple random sampling from all parts of Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Northwest Iran. None of the subjects had any hand abnormalities or illnesses. For each subject, 34 hand dimensions, weight, and height were taken during a time period of approximately 20 min.

2.2 Hand dimensions

In this study, 34 dimensions of the right hand including 13 lengths, eight widths, six depths, and seven circumferences were measured (Fig. 1). The definitions of the hand dimensions were based on the past literature [13 –16].

Fig. 1

Hand dimensions; Lengths [1 = FR1 (Fingertip to Root digit 1), 2 = FR3 (Fingertip to Root digit 3), 3 = FR5 (Fingertip to Root digit 5), 4 = DR3 (Distal joint to Root digit 3),5 = DR5 (Distal joint to Root digit 5), 6 = PR3 (Proximal joint to Root digit 3), 7 = PR5 (Proximal joint to Root digit 5), 8 = WR1 (Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 1), 9 = WR2 (Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 2), 10 = WR3 (Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 3), 11 = WR4 (Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 4), 12 = WR5 (Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 5), 13 = HL (Hand Length)], Breadths [14 = BJ1 (Breadth at Joint digit 1), 15 = BD3 (Breadth at Distal joint digit 3), 16 = BD5 (Breadth at Distal joint digit 5), 17 = BP3 (Breadth at Proximal joint digit 3), 18 = BP5 (Breadth at Proximal joint digit 5), 19 = HB (Hand Breadth), 20 = HBK1 (Hand Breadth at Knuckle digit 1), 21 = WB (Wrist Breadth), Circumferences [22 = CP1(Circumference at Proximal joint digit 1), 23 = CP2 (Circumference at Proximal joint digit 2), 24 = CP3 (Circumference at Proximal joint digit 3), 25 = CP4 (Circumference at Proximal joint digit 4), 26 = CP5 (Circumference at Proximal joint digit 5), 27 = HC (Hand Circumference), 28 = WC (Wrist Circumference)], Depths [r29 = DP3 (Depth at Proximal joint digit 3) r30 = DD3 (Depth at Distal joint digit 3) r31 = DP5 (Depth at Proximal joint digit 5) r32 = DD5 (Depth at Distal joint digit 5) r33 = HDK3 (Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 3) r34 = HDK1 (Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 1)].

2.3 Measuring equipment

A digital caliper (Series 307 ASIMETO Co. rGermany) rwith the resolution ratio (precision) of 0.01 mm rmeasuring range of 0 r1 r2 r3 r4 r5 r6 r7 r8 r9 r10 r11 r12 r13 r14 r15 r16 r17 r18 r19 r20 r21 r22 r23 r24 r25 r26 r27 r28 r29 r30 rand accuracy of±0.03 mm was used for the measurement of length rwidth and depth dimensions. To measure hand circumferences ra flexible measuring tape raccurate to the 0.1 cm level (with 0.5 cm precision) rwas used. Height and weight of subjects were measured when the subjects were wearing light indoor clothes without shoes. Body weight was measured on a digital scale (Salus scale rMilan rItaly) rto the nearest 0.1 kg. The height was measured to the nearest 0.5 cm by a stadiometer (Salus stadiometer rMilan rItaly).

2.4 Measurement procedure

2.3 Measuring equipment

A digital caliper (Series 307 ASIMETO Co., Germany), with the resolution ratio (precision) of 0.01 mm, measuring range of 0–30 cm, and accuracy of±0.03 mm was used for the measurement of length, width and depth dimensions. To measure hand circumferences, a flexible measuring tape, accurate to the 0.1 cm level (with 0.5 cm precision), was used.. Height and weight of subjects were measured when the subjects were wearing light indoor clothes without shoes. Body weight was measured on a digital scale (Salus scale, Milan, Italy), to the nearest 0.1 kg. The height was measured to the nearest 0.5 cm by a stadiometer (Salus stadiometer, Milan, Italy).

2.4 Measurement procedure

The current study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Urmia University of Medical Sciences (IR.UMSU.REC.1395.45). Data collection was conducted between June and October 2017. All participants signed a consent form and confidentiality of data collection was ensured to all of them. Before measurement, the hands of subjects were washed and dried. The anthropometric data were obtained from the right hand of subjects, since there are hardly any difference between the right and left hands 17, 18]. The measurement of hand dimensions was carried out in a sitting position. During the measurements, the fingers were extended. All measurements were made by one operator (M.T.), who was a master’s student of ergonomics. The measurer read aloud the measured value and an assistant entered the values into the corresponding form. In order to perform more accurate measurements, the measurer was received special training on anatomical landmarks, definitions of hand dimensions, and using the measuring tools. The consistency of measurements was tested by intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) using a two-way mixed effect model. Therefore, in a pilot study on 20 participants, eight hand dimensions including two lengths (HL and WR3), two breadths (BP3 and HBK1), two circumferences (CP3 and WC), and two depths (DD3 and HDK3) were measured twice with a one-hour interval for each subject. The values of ICC obtained 0.97, 0.95, 0.98, 0.96, 0.95, 0.97, 0.99, and 0.98 for HL, WR3, BP3, HBK1, CP3, WC, DD3, and HDK3, respectively. The ICC values were higher than 0.95, indicating good reproducibility for hand anthro-pometry. To expect the maximum error in anthropometric measurements [19], an anthropometric dimension with the largest variance should be selected. According to some previous studies [14 –17], the length of hand was found as a dimension having the largest variance. The SD for length of hand was 7.4 mm in females [16] and 13.6 mm in males [17]. Therefore, considering a confidence interval of 95%; and variances of 54.8 (SD = 7.4) and 185 (SD = 13.6), we expected a maximum error of 1.3 mm and 1.8 mm in measuring hand dimensions of female (sample size = 128) and male (sample size = 217) subjects, respectively.

2.5 Statistical analysis

Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation (SD), Maximum (Max.), Minimum (Min.), and different percentiles were calculated for the measured variables. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (at the 5%level of significance) was used for checking the normality of data distribution. Most of the hand dimensions were normally distributed. Independent Student’s t-test was used to compare the mean values of the hand dimensions between both genders. Significance was set at p < 0.05. To compare with other populations, the t-value and its significance, and percentage differences (%Diff) were calculated by Stata software (version 11). Therefore, the mean and SD of hand dimensions as well as the sample size of the current and corresponding studies were entered into Stata software. For this purpose, data from previously published data were used; Americans of Vietnamese origin [13], Bangladeshis living in the USA [14], Korean citizens [15], Jordan citizens [16] North Colombia citizens [17], farm workers of Nigeria [18], Turkish dentistry students [20], Colombian workers [19], and Indian women [21]. Similar to this study, most of these studies also used digital caliper and a tap for measurements.

3 Results

3.1 Subjects

In this study, 34 dimensions of the right hand were measured in 217 male and 128 female adults living in northwest Iran. The physical characteristics of the subjects are summarized in Table 1. The age of participants ranged 24–60 years and their weight and height were distributed in the range of 49–119 kg and 150–198 cm, respectively.

Table 1
Descriptive statistics of the participants

Characteristics Mean SD Min. Max.

Males Age (years) 39.76 8.20 24 58

(n = 217) Weight (Kg) 79.64 11.80 50 119

Stature (cm) 175.13 6.83 156 198

BMI 25.92 3.21 17.92 38.75

Females Age (years) 36.82 8.88 24 60

(n = 128) Weight (Kg) 66.53 10.94 49 104

Stature (cm) 162.83 5.59 150 175

BMI 25.04 3.63 15.75 36.33

	Characteristics	Mean	SD	Min.	Max.
Males	Age (years)	39.76	8.20	24	58
(n = 217)	Weight (Kg)	79.64	11.80	50	119
	Stature (cm)	175.13	6.83	156	198
	BMI	25.92	3.21	17.92	38.75
Females	Age (years)	36.82	8.88	24	60
(n = 128)	Weight (Kg)	66.53	10.94	49	104
	Stature (cm)	162.83	5.59	150	175
	BMI	25.04	3.63	15.75	36.33

3.2 Male and female hand anthropometry

The maximum error was calculated using the SD of length of hand. The values of SD were 7.63 and 9.27 mm for female and male subjects, respectively. Therefore, considering a confidence interval of 95%; and variances of 58.21 (SD = 7.63) and 85.93 (SD = 9.27), we expected the maximum error of 1.3 mm and 1.2 mm in measuring hand dimensions of female and male subjects, respectively. Table 2 shows the mean (±SD) and percentiles (5th, 50th, and 95th) of hand dimensions by gender. These information could be used as a reference for the design of products that are related to the hand. Table 2 also presents the statistical differences of hand dimensions between male and female adults using independent t-test. All hand dimensions of male were significantly greater than of female (p < 0.01). According to Table 2, the smallest and the greatest differences were related to the dimensions of Proximal joint to Root digit 3 (PR3) and Breadth at Distal joint digit 5 (BD5) by 4.21%and 18.16%, respectively. Male subjects had larger palm dimensions (WR1 to WR5) than females by more than 10%. The largest differences between genders were observed in hand breadths which was from 11.84%(HB) to 18.16%(BD5). The hand circumferences of male subjects were larger than females by11.58 to 14.68%. Finally, when comparing the depth of hand, Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 3 and Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 1 showed the smallest (5.93%) and the largest (16.75%) difference by gender.

Table 2
Mean, SD and percentile values (mm) for Iranian females (n = 128) and males (n = 217) and t-test results for male-female difference in means

Hand dimensions Female Male %Mean difference t-value

Mean±SD 5th 50th 95th Mean±SD 5th 50th 95th

Fingertip to Root digit 1 61.02±5.04 53.07 61.36 69.55 64.35±4.44 57.55 65.71 71.63 5.17 6.39^*

Fingertip to Root digit 3 70.31±5.26 61.45 71.19 79.66 78.19±4.41 71.91 78.34 85.16 10.08 14.91^*

Fingertip to Root digit 5 54.02±4.42 46.27 55.86 60.12 60.29±4.06 53.85 60.41 67.27 10.40 13.41^*

Distal joint to Root digit 3 46.78±4.09 40.11 47.74 54.35 50.13±4.01 44.81 50.85 57.63 6.68 7.43^*

Distal joint to Root digit 5 32.45±3.61 26.09 33.82 38.46 35.17±3.43 30.15 35.45 41.28 7.73 6.96^*

Proximal joint to Root digit 3 24.58±2.82 21.39 24.06 29.63 25.66±2.42 22.14 25.71 30.09 4.21 3.61^*

Proximal joint to Root digit 5 18.01±2.43 15.26 18.46 22.52 19.17±1.99 15.83 19.63 22.57 6.05 4.58^*

Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 1 62.22±4.49 55.36 62.71 69.46 70.97±4.74 63.72 71.33 79.12 12.33 16.90^*

Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 2 98.86±4.82 91.45 99.26 107.83 111.10±5.93 102.07 111.25 121.74 11.02 20.87^*

Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 3 97.44±5.13 89.06 98.22 105.55 109.85±5.93 100.86 110.55 120.41 11.30 19.73^*

Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 4 92.90±4.91 84.51 93.94 100.62 105.56±6.07 95.47 105.33 116.16 11.99 21.16^*

Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 5 85.73±4.84 78.44 85.04 95.63 97.81±5.65 89.90 97.24 109.61 12.35 20.20^*

Hand Length 170.66±7.63 159.75 171.82 183.14 188.40±9.27 171.21 189.98 203.54 9.42 18.29^*

Breadth at Joint digit 1 18.60±1.61 16.82 19.66 21.71 21.51±1.36 20.04 21.84 24.22 13.53 17.83^*

Breadth at Distal joint digit 3 15.18±1.38 13.14 15.36 18.67 17.88±1.19 16.15 18.03 20.52 15.10 19.21^*

Breadth at Distal joint digit 5 12.80±1.29 11.21 13.75 15.49 15.64±1.16 14.21 16.55 17.80 18.16 21.03^*

Breadth at Proximal joint digit 3 17.72±1.24 16.98 18.52 19.99 20.13±1.12 18.05 20.47 22.11 11.97 18.54^*

Breadth at Proximal joint digit 5 15.05±1.36 13.27 15.83 17.44 17.61±1.19 16.40 18.12 19.37 14.54 18.22^*

Hand Breadth 72.74±4.44 65.33 73.56 80.79 82.51±4.16 75.23 83.55 90.72 11.84 20.54^*

Hand Breadth at Knuckle digit 1 85.74±5.97 76.45 86.31 95.11 102.56±5.42 91.90 103.81 111.25 16.40 26.13^*

Wrist Breadth 53.95±3.92 48.50 54.99 61.37 62.52±3.53 57.03 62.65 69.31 13.71 20.90^*

Circumference at Proximal joint digit 1 63.04±3.83 57.00 63.00 69.00 71.81±3.68 65.00 72.00 78.00 12.21 21.06^*

Circumference at Proximal joint digit 2 61.34±3.67 55.00 61.00 67.55 69.95±3.81 63.00 70.00 76.00 12.31 20.53^*

Circumference at Proximal joint digit 3 61.80±3.62 55.45 62.00 67.55 71.61±3.91 65.00 72.00 78.00 13.70 23.14^*

Circumference at Proximal joint digit 4 58.09±3.22 53.00 58.00 64.00 67.64±3.69 61.00 68.00 73.00 14.12 24.31^*

Circumference at Proximal joint digit 5 51.80±3.03 47.00 51.00 57.00 60.71±4.73 55.00 61.00 66.00 14.68 24.07^*

Hand Circumference 177.01±9.67 160.45 178.00 193.00 203.07±10.06 186.00 204.00 218.00 12.83 23.58^*

Wrist Circumference 159.99±9.12 145.45 159.00 178.55 180.94±9.89 165.00 180.00 198.00 11.58 19.55^*

Depth at Proximal joint digit 3 16.88±1.51 15.12 17.88 19.62 19.08±1.24 17.82 19.42 21.01 11.53 14.64^*

Depth at Distal joint digit 3 13.29±1.62 10.45 13.64 16.30 15.36±1.25 13.75 15.34 17.77 13.48 12.45^*

Depth at Proximal joint digit 5 14.38±1.58 12.74 15.51 16.63 16.24±1.23 14.40 16.53 18.70 11.45 11.47^*

Depth at Distal joint digit 5 11.28±1.42 9.84 11.35 13.33 13.01±1.13 11.12 13.62 15.66 13.30 11.78^*

Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 3 30.60±3.45 26.41 31.11 36.19 32.53±3.09 27.48 32.91 38.54 5.93 5.21^*

Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 1 41.55±3.90 35.13 41.81 48.05 49.91±3.95 43.91 50.63 57.14 16.75 19.07^*

Average absolute gender difference 11.7

Hand dimensions	Female	Male	%Mean difference	t-value
Fingertip to Root digit 1	61.02±5.04	53.07	61.36	69.55	64.35±4.44	57.55	65.71	71.63	5.17	6.39^*
Fingertip to Root digit 3	70.31±5.26	61.45	71.19	79.66	78.19±4.41	71.91	78.34	85.16	10.08	14.91^*
Fingertip to Root digit 5	54.02±4.42	46.27	55.86	60.12	60.29±4.06	53.85	60.41	67.27	10.40	13.41^*
Distal joint to Root digit 3	46.78±4.09	40.11	47.74	54.35	50.13±4.01	44.81	50.85	57.63	6.68	7.43^*
Distal joint to Root digit 5	32.45±3.61	26.09	33.82	38.46	35.17±3.43	30.15	35.45	41.28	7.73	6.96^*
Proximal joint to Root digit 3	24.58±2.82	21.39	24.06	29.63	25.66±2.42	22.14	25.71	30.09	4.21	3.61^*
Proximal joint to Root digit 5	18.01±2.43	15.26	18.46	22.52	19.17±1.99	15.83	19.63	22.57	6.05	4.58^*
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 1	62.22±4.49	55.36	62.71	69.46	70.97±4.74	63.72	71.33	79.12	12.33	16.90^*
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 2	98.86±4.82	91.45	99.26	107.83	111.10±5.93	102.07	111.25	121.74	11.02	20.87^*
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 3	97.44±5.13	89.06	98.22	105.55	109.85±5.93	100.86	110.55	120.41	11.30	19.73^*
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 4	92.90±4.91	84.51	93.94	100.62	105.56±6.07	95.47	105.33	116.16	11.99	21.16^*
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 5	85.73±4.84	78.44	85.04	95.63	97.81±5.65	89.90	97.24	109.61	12.35	20.20^*
Hand Length	170.66±7.63	159.75	171.82	183.14	188.40±9.27	171.21	189.98	203.54	9.42	18.29^*
Breadth at Joint digit 1	18.60±1.61	16.82	19.66	21.71	21.51±1.36	20.04	21.84	24.22	13.53	17.83^*
Breadth at Distal joint digit 3	15.18±1.38	13.14	15.36	18.67	17.88±1.19	16.15	18.03	20.52	15.10	19.21^*
Breadth at Distal joint digit 5	12.80±1.29	11.21	13.75	15.49	15.64±1.16	14.21	16.55	17.80	18.16	21.03^*
Breadth at Proximal joint digit 3	17.72±1.24	16.98	18.52	19.99	20.13±1.12	18.05	20.47	22.11	11.97	18.54^*
Breadth at Proximal joint digit 5	15.05±1.36	13.27	15.83	17.44	17.61±1.19	16.40	18.12	19.37	14.54	18.22^*
Hand Breadth	72.74±4.44	65.33	73.56	80.79	82.51±4.16	75.23	83.55	90.72	11.84	20.54^*
Hand Breadth at Knuckle digit 1	85.74±5.97	76.45	86.31	95.11	102.56±5.42	91.90	103.81	111.25	16.40	26.13^*
Wrist Breadth	53.95±3.92	48.50	54.99	61.37	62.52±3.53	57.03	62.65	69.31	13.71	20.90^*
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 1	63.04±3.83	57.00	63.00	69.00	71.81±3.68	65.00	72.00	78.00	12.21	21.06^*
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 2	61.34±3.67	55.00	61.00	67.55	69.95±3.81	63.00	70.00	76.00	12.31	20.53^*
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 3	61.80±3.62	55.45	62.00	67.55	71.61±3.91	65.00	72.00	78.00	13.70	23.14^*
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 4	58.09±3.22	53.00	58.00	64.00	67.64±3.69	61.00	68.00	73.00	14.12	24.31^*
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 5	51.80±3.03	47.00	51.00	57.00	60.71±4.73	55.00	61.00	66.00	14.68	24.07^*
Hand Circumference	177.01±9.67	160.45	178.00	193.00	203.07±10.06	186.00	204.00	218.00	12.83	23.58^*
Wrist Circumference	159.99±9.12	145.45	159.00	178.55	180.94±9.89	165.00	180.00	198.00	11.58	19.55^*
Depth at Proximal joint digit 3	16.88±1.51	15.12	17.88	19.62	19.08±1.24	17.82	19.42	21.01	11.53	14.64^*
Depth at Distal joint digit 3	13.29±1.62	10.45	13.64	16.30	15.36±1.25	13.75	15.34	17.77	13.48	12.45^*
Depth at Proximal joint digit 5	14.38±1.58	12.74	15.51	16.63	16.24±1.23	14.40	16.53	18.70	11.45	11.47^*
Depth at Distal joint digit 5	11.28±1.42	9.84	11.35	13.33	13.01±1.13	11.12	13.62	15.66	13.30	11.78^*
Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 3	30.60±3.45	26.41	31.11	36.19	32.53±3.09	27.48	32.91	38.54	5.93	5.21^*
Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 1	41.55±3.90	35.13	41.81	48.05	49.91±3.95	43.91	50.63	57.14	16.75	19.07^*
Average absolute gender difference									11.7

^*Indicates statistically significant at the 1%level, for test of difference in means between genders.

The mean and standard deviation of the hand data for females and males of the current study and those of Vietnam [13], Bangladeshis in the USA [14], Korea [15], Jordan [16], North Colombia ([17], Nigeria [18], Turkey [20], Colombia [19], and India [21] are summarized in Tables 3 4, respectively.

Table 3

Summary data of hand dimensions (Mean±SD) of Iranian females and other populations (in mm)

	Iran	North Colombia (N = 86) [17]	Korea (N = 154) [15]	Turkey (N = 73) [20]	Colombia (N = 120) [19]	Nigeria (N = 100) [18]	Bangladesh is in the USA (N = 51) [14]	Jordan (N = 120) [16]	Vietnam (N = 25) [13]	India (N = 59) [21]
Fingertip to Root digit 1	61.02±5.04		56.1±3.5	59.42±3.72	56.8±3.81					64.1±6.3
Fingertip to Root digit 3	70.31±5.26	74.3±5.88	73.5±4.3	74.41±3.91	73.4±4.3	73.62±4.83	72.95±3.77	75.15±3.62	72.3±4.6	76±5.7
Fingertip to Root digit 5	54.02±4.42	56.02±5.89	54.5±4.6	55.58±3.28	54.4±3.9	54.88±3.2	51.95±4.12	56.63±3.4	54.5±4.5	56.3±5.4
Distal joint to Root digit 3	46.78±4.09	50.77±4.12				51.69±5.45	45.66±4.12	50.74±3.95	47.9±6.1
Distal joint to Root digit 5	32.45±3.61	34.74±5.05				34.74±2.83	30.37±3.25	34.16±2.97	32±3.3
Proximal joint to Root digit 3	24.58±2.82	26.66±2.55				28.67±3.36	23.42±3.23	26.11±2.57	25.2±2.7
Proximal joint to Root digit 5	18.01±2.43	19.27±3.12				19.37±2.18	16.33±2.45	18.34±1.79	19.2±3.4
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 1	62.22±4.49		73.1±4.5
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 2	98.86±4.82		104.8±5.2
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 3	97.44±5.13	93.94±6.5	104.7±5.2
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 4	92.90±4.91		100.1±5.5
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 5	85.73±4.84		91.9±5.2
Hand Length	170.66±7.63	168.22±10.63	170.7±7.7	170.66±8.14	167.3±8	176.26±13.67	167.64±11.49	171.27±7.44	165±9	169.6±9.4
Breadth at Joint digit 1	18.60±1.61		19.7±1.2	17.21±1.43	17.1±1.1		12.77±0.99	13.54±0.96	13.3±2.3	14.7±2.1
Breadth at Distal joint digit 3	15.18±1.38	14.77±2.18		14.35±0.62	16.4±1	14.64±1.25	15.57±1.31	15.83±0.99	15.9±2.5	10.4±1.5
Breadth at Distal joint digit 5	12.80±1.29	12.66±1.76		11.97±0.63		13±1.14
Breadth at Proximal joint digit 3	17.72±1.24	16.46±2.82	18.5±1.2	16.67±0.72	18.4±1	17.31±1.26	18.46±1.96	18.11±1.1	17.9±2.5	13.3±1.5
Breadth at Proximal joint digit 5	15.05±1.36	14.18±2.15	15.3±1.2	13.7±0.76		14.88±1.41	15.42±1.24	15.3±1.05	14.9±2.4
Hand Breadth	72.74±4.44	73.54±8.07	78±4	69.91±3.23	78.8±3.4	72.15±6.27	74.12±4.05	77.82±3.92	71±4.3	68±5.1
Hand Breadth at Knuckle digit 1	85.74±5.97	86.74±11.43		91.45±5.09		87.19±6.47	88.63±5.62	93.99±5.63	86.8±6.1
Wrist Breadth	53.95±3.92		55.4±3.5	49.86±2.84	56.5±3.3					46.1±4.8
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 1	63.04±3.83		61±4.6	53.84±3.75	62.4±3.7					60.6±3
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 2	61.34±3.67		58.2±4	56.43±2.65
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 3	61.80±3.62		59.6±4.2	56.32±2.36	60.8±3.1					59.2±3.6
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 4	58.09±3.22		55.6±4	53.06±2.9
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 5	51.80±3.03		48.8±3.8	46.79±2.63
Hand Circumference	177.01±9.67		186.1±10.7		192.5±9.6					188.6±10.2
Wrist Circumference	159.99±9.12	162.35±18.3	156.2±8.9		158±8.4					143.6±6.9
Depth at Proximal joint digit 3	16.88±1.51	14.85±2.33			16.6±1	17.69±2.1	15.59±1.68	16.37±1.24	13.9±2.3	11.3±1.3
Depth at Distal joint digit 3	13.29±1.62	12.42±2.12			13.5±0.9	13.77±2.26	12.37±1.44	13.22±0.96	10.7±2.5	7.9±1.3
Depth at Proximal joint digit 5	14.38±1.58	12.63±1.94				12.91±1.12	12.97±1.28	13.94±1.17	11.5±2.4
Depth at Distal joint digit 5	11.28±1.42	10.6±1.77				16.28±2.24	10.39±1.45	11.46±1.12	8.5±3
Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 3	30.60±3.45				24.7±1.7	21.46±4.33	27.73±3.74	28.36±2.26	23.5±4	22.2±2.4
Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 1	41.55±3.90	31.49±5.73	42.2±3.7	37.32±3.44		38.39±4.31	41.95±2.71	40.35±4.26	40.9±4.9

Table 4

Summary data of hand dimensions (Mean±SD) of Iranian males and other populations (in mm)

Hand dimension	Iran	North Colombia (N = 120) [17]	Korea (N = 167) [15]	Turkey (N = 92) [20]	Nigeria (N = 200) [18]	Bangladesh is in the USA (N = 50) [14]	Jordan (N = 115) [16]	Vietnam (N = 25) [13]
Fingertip to Root digit 1	64.35±4.44		61.2±3.9	65.66±4.75
Fingertip to Root digit 3	78.19±4.41	79.33±6.11	78.6±4.7	81.86±5.15	78.33±6.75	75.81±3.39	81.26±7.14	78.2±4.5
Fingertip to Root digit 5	60.29±4.06	59.47±5.48	59±4.4	62.43±4.63	58.57±6.53	57.85±3.81	61.12±4.69	67.9±12.1
Distal joint to Root digit 3	50.13±4.01	53.86±5.64			53.52±5.43	50.17±4.17	55.08±5.29	51.6±5.8
Distal joint to Root digit 5	35.17±3.43	36.3±4.92			36.09±3.05	34.95±1.97	36.56±3.5	35.8±3.3
Proximal joint to Root digit 3	25.66±2.42	29.69±5.81			29.9±4.29	26.29±2.07	27.75±2.63	26.8±3.6
Proximal joint to Root digit 5	19.17±1.99	21.23±4.43			19.57±2.19	19.64±1.49	19.05±2.13	20.5±4.3
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 1	70.97±4.74		79.6±4.7
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 2	111.10±5.93		113.1±5.7
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 3	109.85±5.93	104.55±8.57	112.6±5.9
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 4	105.56±6.07		107.8±5.9
Center of Wrist crease to Root digit 5	97.81±5.65		99.4±5.9
Hand Length	188.40±9.27	190.34±13.6	183.3±9	190.4±9.69	180.95±17.47	173.15±8.38	191.2±10.2	177±12
Breadth at Joint digit 1	21.51±1.36		22.5±1.6	19.75±1.74		13.86±1.28	15.4±1.15	14.8±2.5
Breadth at Distal joint digit 3	17.88±1.19	16.95±2.02		16.52±0.89	16.06±1.43	17.29±1.72	17.65±1.06	17.5±2.4
Breadth at Distal joint digit 5	15.64±1.16	14.65±2.49		13.95±0.77	14.02±1.46
Breadth at Proximal joint digit 3	20.13±1.12	18.8±3.05	20.8±1.2	19.25±1.01	18.76±1.78	19.38±1.59	20.41±1.41	20.3±2.4
Breadth at Proximal joint digit 5	17.61±1.19	16.08±2.39	17.5±1.1	16.11±0.87	16.43±1.63	16.84±1.82	17.4±1.34	16.9±2.5
Hand Breadth	82.51±4.16	82.65±9.42	86±4.2	78.44±4.52	80.82±8.36	79.39±7.16	87.7±4.82	79.2±6.9
Hand Breadth at Knuckle digit 1	102.56±5.42	98.25±10.82		104.3±6.01	94.34±13.38	98.31±9.61	104.2±10.94	100.3±5.9
Wrist Breadth	62.52±3.53		61.4±3.0	56.31±3.3
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 1	71.81±3.68		68.8±4.3	61.44±4.45
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 2	69.95±3.81		64.9±3.7	63.17±3.22
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 3	71.61±3.91		66.4±4.0	64.06±2.97
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 4	67.64±3.69		62.1±3.9	60.42±3.28
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 5	60.71±4.73		54.5±3.5	53.9±2.74
Hand Circumference	203.07±10.06		208±9.6
Wrist Circumference	180.94±9.89	175.01±24.88	175.8±10.9
Depth at Proximal joint digit 3	19.08±1.24	17.17±2.56			19.38±2.07	16.75±2.26	18.58±1.43	16.2±2.1
Depth at Distal joint digit 3	15.36±1.25	14.15±2.05			14.8±2.0	13.35±1.98	14.65±1.12	12.7±2.1
Depth at Proximal joint digit 5	16.24±1.23	14.6±2.66			17.94±2.62	14.31±1.97	15.35±1.28	13.3±2.1
Depth at Distal joint digit 5	13.01±1.13	12.78±2.9			13.54±1.35	11±2.07	12.58±1.47	10.7±2.1
Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 3	32.53±3.09				30.6±5.9	28.08±3.92	30.31±2.4	28.2±3
Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 1	49.91±3.95	36.65±7.97	49.1±4.0	42.89±3.4	60.65±2.95	46.1±4.09	43.9±3.93	45.8±5.9

The statistical comparison of the hand data, presented in Tables 3 4, are given in Tables 5 6 for females and males, respectively.

Table 5

Comparison of hand anthropometry measurements between Iranian females and other nationalities

Hand dimension	Iran vs. North Colombia (N = 86)		Iran vs. Korea (N = 154)		Iran vs. Turkey (N = 73)		Iran vs. Colombia (N = 120)		Iran vs. Nigeria (N = 100)		Iran vs. Bangladesh is in the USA (N = 51)		Iran vs. Jordan (N = 120)		Iran vs. Vietnamies (N = 25)		Iran vs. India (N = 59)
	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value
Fingertip to Root digit 1			8.06^**	9.33	2.62^**	2.56	6.92^**	7.46									–5.05^**	–3.29
Fingertip to Root digit 3	–5.67^**	–5.07	–4.54^**	–5.5	–5.83^**	–6.28	–4.39^**	–5.07	–4.71^**	–4.93	–3.75^**	–3.26	–6.88^**	–8.48	–2.83	–1.93	–8.09^**	–6.49
Fingertip to Root digit 5	–3.70^**	–2.92	–0.89	–0.89	–2.89^**	–2.84	–0.70	–0.71	–1.59	–1.7	3.83^**		–4.83^**	–5.23	–0.89	–0.48	–4.22^**	–2.83
Distal joint to Root digit 3	–8.53^**	–6.97							–10.50^**	–7.5	2.39	1.64	–8.47^**	–7.75	–2.39	–0.88
Distal joint to Root digit 5	–7.06^**	–3.62							–7.06^**	–5.36	6.41^**	3	–5.27^**	–4.08	1.39	0.61
Proximal joint to Root digit 3	–8.46^**	–5.6							–16.64^**	–9.77	4.72^*		–6.22^**	–4.46	–2.52	–1.04
Proximal joint to Root digit 5	–7.00^**	–3.15							–7.55^**	–4.44	9.33^**	4.15	–1.83	–1.22	–6.61	–1.66
Hand Length	1.43	1.83	–0.02	–0.043	–0.04	–1.28	1.97^**	3.38	–3.28^**	–3.67	1.77	1.73	–0.36	–0.63	3.32^**	2.94	0.62	0.75
Breadth at Joint digit 1			–5.91^**	–5.89	7.47^**	6.32	8.06^**	8.61									20.97^**	12.65
Breadth at Distal joint digit 3	2.70	1.54			5.47^**	5.84	–8.04^**	–8	3.56^**	3.09	–2.57	–1.77	–4.28^**	–4.28	–4.74	–1.39	31.49^**	20.76
Breadth at Distal joint digit 5	1.09	0.67			6.48^**	6.11			–1.56	–1.22	0.23	0.15	–5.78^**	–5.09	–3.9	0.12
Breadth at Proximal joint digit 3	7.11^**	3.89	–4.40^**	–5.33	5.93^**	7.95	–3.84^**	–4.76	2.31^*	2.45	–4.18^*	–2.5	–2.20^**	–2.62	–1.02	–0.35	24.94^**	19.73
Breadth at Proximal joint digit 5	5.78^**	3.62	–1.66	–1.62	8.97^**	9.02			1.13	0.917	–2.46	–1.75	–1.66	–1.62	1.00	0.30
Hand Breadth	–1.10	–0.84	–7.23^**	–10.35	3.89^**	5.19	–8.33^**	–12.11	0.81	0.797	–1.90^*	–2	–6.98^**	–9.56	2.39	1.84	6.52^**	6.14
Hand Breadth at Knuckle digit 1	–1.17	–0.75							–1.69	–1.73	–3.37^**	–3.73	–9.62^**	–11.2	–1.24	–0.79
Wrist Breadth			–2.69^**	–3.24	7.58^**	8.51	–4.73^**	–5.55									14.55^**	10.98
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 1			3.24^**	4.06	14.59^**	16.59	1.02	1.38									3.87^**	4.69
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 2			5.12^**	6.86	8.00^**	10.94
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 3			3.56^**	4.72	8.87^**	12.96	1.62^*	2.34									4.21^**	4.58
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 4			4.29^**	5.79	8.66^**	11.35
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 5			5.79^**	7.37	9.67^**	12.27
Hand Circumference			–5.14^**	–7.48			–8.75^**	–12.65									–6.55^**	–7.33
Wrist Circumference	–1.48	–1.1	2.37^**	3.51			1.24	1.78									10.24^**	13.57
Depth at Proximal joint digit 3	12.03^**	7.13					1.66	1.73	–4.80^**	–3.25	7.64^**	4.76	3.02^**	2.91	17.65^**	6.22	33.06^**	25.88
Depth at Distal joint digit 3	6.55^**	3.2					–1.58	–1.24	–3.61	–1.78	6.92^**	3.68	0.53	0.409	19.49^**	4.97	40.56^**	24.06
Depth at Proximal joint digit 5	12.17^**	6.95							10.22^**	8.21	9.81^**	6.2	3.06^*	2.5	20.03^**	5.76
Depth at Distal joint digit 5	6.03^**	2.97							–44.33^**	–19.47	7.89^**	3.72	–1.60	–1.11	24.65^**	4.53
Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 3							19.28^**	17.24	29.87^**	17.28	9.38^**	4.73	7.32^**	6.08	23.20^**	8.29	27.45^**	19.23
Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 1			–1.56	–1.42	10.18^**	7.98			7.61^**	5.72	–0.96	–0.78	2.89^*	2.3	1.56	0.625

^*Indicates statistically significant using α = 0.05 level of significance. ^** Indicates statistically significant using α = 0.01 level of significance. %Difference = 100 ^*(mean of Iranian - mean of other nationality)/mean of Iranian. The minus signs in the %Diff columns indicate that the hand dimension of the current study is smaller than the reference population.

Table 6

Comparison of hand anthropometry measurements between Iranian males and other nationalities

Hand dimensison	Iran vs. North Colombia (N = 120)		Iran vs. Korea (N = 167)		Iran vs. Turkey (N = 92)		Iran vs. Nigeria (N = 200)		Iran vs. Bangladeshis in the USA (N = 50)		Iran vs. Jordan (N = 115)		Iran vs. Vietnam (N = 25)
	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value	%Diff	t-value
Fingertip to Root digit 1			4.90^**	7.38	–2.04^*	–2.32
Fingertip to Root digit 3	–1.46	–1.8	–0.52	–0.87	–4.69^**	–5.97	–0.18	–0.25	3.04^**	4.21	–3.93^**	–4.2	–0.01	–0.01
Fingertip to Root digit 5	1.36	1.43	2.14^**	2.94	–3.55^**	–3.84	2.85^**	3.19	4.05^**	4.03	–1.38	–1.6	–12.62^**	–3.12
Distal joint to Root digit 3	–7.44^**	–6.4					–6.76^**	–7.2	–0.08	–0.061	–9.87^**	–8.78	–2.93	–1.23
Distal joint to Root digit 5	–3.21^**	–2.23					–2.62^**	–2.89	0.63	0.605	–3.95^**	–3.46	–1.79	–0.9
Proximal joint to Root digit 3	–15.71^**	–7.25					–16.52^**	–9.94	–2.46	–1.87	–8.14^**	–7.08	–4.44	–1.54
Proximal joint to Root digit 5	–10.75^**	–4.83					–2.09^*	–1.94	–2.45	–1.83	0.63	0.48	–6.94	–1.52
Hand Length	–1.03	–1.43	2.71^**	5.43	–1.06^*	–1.68	3.95^**	5.37	8.09^**	11.36	–1.49^*	–2.45	6.05^**	4.59
Breadth at Joint digit 1			–4.60^**	–6.41	8.18^**	8.64
Breadth at Distal joint digit 3	5.20^**	4.61			7.61^**	11.05	10.18^**	14.06	3.30^*	2.3	1.29	1.8	2.13	0.78
Breadth at Distal joint digit 5	6.33^**	1.46			10.81^**	15.02	10.36^**	12.47	11.38^**	9.09	1.53	1.79	5.37	2.93
Breadth at Proximal joint digit 3	6.61^**	4.6	–3.33^**	–5.58	4.37^**	6.77	6.81^**	9.31	3.73^**	3.15	–1.39	–1.84	–0.84	–0.34
Breadth at Proximal joint digit 5	8.69^**	6.57	0.62	0.93	8.52^**	12.34	6.70^**	8.83	4.37^**	2.78	1.19	1.41	4.03	1.4
Hand Breadth	–0.17	0.15	–4.23^**	–8.1	4.93^**	7.4	2.05^*	2.57	3.78^**	2.96	–6.29^**	–9.77	4.01^*	2.34
Hand Breadth at Knuckle digit 1	4.20^**	4.08			–1.70^**	–2.49	8.01^**	8.13	4.14^**	3.01	–1.60	–1.51	2.20	1.82
Wrist Breadth			1.79^**	3.35	9.93^**	14.81
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 1			4.47^**	7.75	14.44^**	19.74
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 2			7.22^**	13.08	9.69^**	15.99
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 3			7.28^**	12.77	10.54^**	18.51
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 4			8.19^**	14.12	10.67^**	17.03
Circumference at Proximal joint digit 5			10.23^**	14.78	11.22^**	15.84
Hand Circumference			–2.43^**	–4.88
Wrist Circumference	3.28^*	2.5	2.84^**	4.76
Depth at Proximal joint digit 3	10.01^**	7.68					–1.57	–1.77	12.21^**	7.04	2.62^**	3.17	15.09^**	6.72
Depth at Distal joint digit 3	7.88^**	5.88					7.88^**	3.39	13.09^**	6.86	4.62^**	5.27	17.32^**	6.2
Depth at Proximal joint digit 5	10.10^**	6.38					–10.47^**	–8.36	11.88^**	8.8	5.48^**	6.1	18.10^**	6.86
Depth at Distal joint digit 5	1.77	0.83					–4.07^**	–4.33	15.45^**	6.64	3.31^**	2.73	17.76^**	5.41
Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 3							5.93^**	4.13	13.68^**	7.5	6.82^**	7.23	13.31^**	5.62
Hand Depth at Knuckle digit 1			1.62^*	1.97	14.07^**	15.79	–21.52^**	–31.61	7.63^**	5.97	12.04^**	13.23	8.23^**	3.39

4 Discussion

The objective of this study was to measure and analyze the hand data of Iranian male and female adults. The obtained hand data were compared with data provided for other nationalities. Therefore, 34 main hand dimensions were measured and tabulated as mean, standard deviation, and the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles. These data could help local designers of hand-related products. Since the 5th to 95th percentiles cover the 90%of the population, manufacturers could produce comfortable products for a significant percentage of people. The 50th percentile, which is nearly equal to the mean, could be used for comparison of dimensions among different nationalities.

In this study, the mean of hand anthropometry data was compared between males and females. As expected, females had significantly smaller hands (4.21 to 18.16%) than males. In line with our findings, Jee and Yu reported that the hand dimensions of males were significantly larger than those of females [15]. Mandahawi et al. also found that males have larger hands than females by 3.73%to 14.25%[16]. Similar gender differences have been reported for hands of Colombian (4.3%to 17.07%) [17] and Bangladeshis living in USA (3.2%to 16.8%) [14].

In the current study, the greatest differences between the genders were observed in hand breadths. In contrast, the smallest differences were found in finger lengths, ranged from 4.21–10.40%. In agreement with our results, the greatest and the least differences of hand were reported for hand breadths and lengths, respectively in a Jordanian population [16]. As an overall evaluation, the hands of males was greater than the hands of females by 4.21–18.16%. This relatively large difference may imply that hand equipment and tools will not equally fit the male and female hands. Therefore, manufacturers should pay attention to these differences when designing hand tools. For example, a power grip tool that is designed for male hands may not properly fitted female hands, consequently leading to lower productivity or cumulative injuries [16]. This mismatch is due to the fact that the hand grip strength is in direct relationship with some hand anthropometric measures such as palm length, hand length, hand width, and wrist circumference [22 –25] in which males have larger values than females.

There is not a clear pattern when hand sizes of males and females are compared across nationalities but some generalizations can be made about specific type of dimensions such as lengths, breadth, circumferences, and depths. According to Table 5, finger segments of Iranian females were generally smaller than those of North Colombian, Korean, Turkish, Colombian, Jordanian, Vietnamese, and Indian but longer than those of Bangladeshis. The hand length of Iranian females was statistically longer than Colombian and Vietnamese but statistically smaller than Nigerians. In comparing the hand breadth, the hand breadths of Iranian females are greater than those of North Colombian, Turkish, and Indian females but smaller than those of Korean, Colombian, Bangladeshis, Jordanian, and Vietnamese. Interestingly, the finger circumferences of Iranian females were larger than those of all other nationalities but they had smaller hand circumference than those of all other nationalities. The female Iranian hand was statistically thicker than those of North Colombian, Bangladeshis, Vietnamese, and Indian females. The hand of Iranian males was almost broader and thicker than those of the nationalities presented in Table 6. The hand circumferences were only available from Korean and Turkish populations and their circumferences were smaller than Iranian males. The hand length of male Iranians were only longer than those of Korean but were smaller than North Colombians, Turkish, Nigerians, Jordanian, and Vietnamese.

Collectively, the Iranian male and female adults had broader (greater breadths and circumferences) but smaller hands. Similar to work of Jee et al. [15], we also further analyzed the hand shape of several nationalities by plotting two ratios of HB/HL and FR3/HL as Fig. 2. In this figure, the nationality which is located on the left top of the plot has longer hands (small hand breadth and long fingers), and by contrast the nationality which is positioned in the right bottom of the plot has broader hands (large hand breadth and small fingers). Colombian and Turkish females have longer hands according to their position in the plot. As expected, Iranian male and female adults are located at the right bottom of the plot in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

A comparison of hand shape among different nationalities, HB = Hand Breadth, HL = Hand Length, FR3 = Fingertip to Root digit 3.

As with any research, this study has some limitations. The following limitations are the most pertinent. First, the sample size is relatively small. Hence, a study with bigger sample size with participants from other regions of Iran is suggested. Second, similar to some previous studies [15 , 19], the hand circumferences were measured using a fabric tape. To reduce the measuring error, a finger circumference gauge is proposed as applied by Cakit et al. [20]. Third, all of the hand dimensions were not included in the pilot study to assess the reliability of the measurement. According to the review by Viviani et al. [26], it is suggested to address the accuracy, precision, and reliability in the hand anthropometry studies.

5 Conclusion

The study was among the first studies providing hand sizes for both male and female Iranian. A total of 34 right hand dimensions were collected and summarized. Similar to previous hand anthropometry surveys, females had statistically smaller hand dim-ensions than males. This result further suggests the use of gender-specific hand data in designing of related tools and equipment. Comparison of hand dimensions with other nationalities highlighted that Iranian male and female adults had smaller but broader hands. This difference should be considered in the use of hand-related tools and gloves which have been designed for other populations.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial backing provided by Urmia University of Medical Sciences. They would also like to thank all people who participated in this study and Mr. Parviz Safi for his help with the preparation of the Excel plot.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors have any conflict of interest to report.

Funding

This study was sponsored by Urmia University of Medical Sciences under grant number 1895.

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