Determination of the Prevalence of Barr Body in Buccal Smear in the East Khasi Hills Population.

Purpose Sex determination is an important identification data of an individual. Among various methods of sex determination, nuclear sexing methods hold pristine value, as it can be done in cases of mutilated remains and in cases of decomposition. X chromatin is inactivated naturally and is seen in the nucleus as Barr bodies. Buccal mucosa is an ideal sample as it is non-invasive. The study was done to estimate the prevalence of Barr bodies among the tribal population of Meghalaya, India. Method Buccal mucosa samples were collected by gentle scraping from both sides of the mouth, smeared on a slide, subjected to Hematoxylin and Eosin staining; 100 cells were viewed under a microscope, data was collected, and appropriate statistical tests were applied. Results A total of 171 participants were included, comprising 91 (53.2%) males and 80 (46.8%) females. Barr bodies were identifie in 80/80 (100%) females and 4/91 (4.4%) males. The mean Barr body count was significantly higher among females (43.05 ± 7.00) than males (0.08 ± 0.45; p < 0.001). No significant association was observed between the interval from sample collection to laboratory processing and Barr body detection (p = 0.465). Conclusion The percentage of Barr bodies among men and women differs significantly, and the distribution is statistically significant. Although Barr body positivity was observed in four male participants, cytogenetic confirmation by karyotyping or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was not performed; therefore, these findings cannot be interpreted as evidence of underlying sex chromosome abnormalities. There was no effect on detection upon the time difference between sample collection and processing, so the samples can be collected in an outside setting and then processed in a lab.