TY - JOUR A1 - Otubogun, Folajimi A1 - Sanni, Nasiru A1 - Bello, Amina T1 - Validation of age determination with historical events in Birnin Kebbi, Northwest Nigeria Y1 - 2019/7/1 JF - Nigerian Medical Journal JO - Niger Med J SP - 190 EP - 192 VL - 60 IS - 4 UR - https://www.nigeriamedj.com/article.asp?issn=0300-1652;year=2019;volume=60;issue=4;spage=190;epage=192;aulast=Otubogun DO - 10.4103/nmj.NMJ_58_19 N2 - Context: Birth registration is not universal and remains elusive for some people living in developing countries, such as Nigeria; hence, age determination for healthcare and health-related research is often problematic. Aims: The aim is to validate the use of a historical events' scale as a tool for estimating the age of Nigerian adults residing in Birnin Kebbi, Northwest Nigeria. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Birnin Kebbi, a metropolitan capital city of Kebbi state, Northwest Nigeria, and included adults aged 18 years and older with a valid document indicating their year of birth. Subjects and Methods: Seven historical events comprising major national events were cross-referenced to the individual's personal history to estimate their ages, which were then compared to their documented ages. Statistical Analysis Used: Relationship of the documented and estimated ages was assessed with the Spearman's rank-order correlation and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analyses. Results: A total of 288 subjects (63.2% males) with a mean documented age of 34.5 ± 11.3 (range 18–75) years were surveyed. The mean estimated age was 32.5 ± 11.18 years. Spearman's rank-order correlation analysis showed a statistically strong positive correlation between the actual and estimated ages (0.953, P < 0.001). The ICC between documented and estimated ages was 0.968 (95% confidence interval = 0.959–0.975). Conclusions: The use of this tool in Nigerian adults provides a reasonably accurate age estimation. Its use in populations and communities with inadequate birth registration may improve the quality of age-related health data in Nigerian adults. ER -