The physiological range of the Böhler's angle in the adult Croatian population.

Background: To examine the relationship of the Böhler's angle with age, sex, and laterality, and to analyze the interrater agreement.

Methods: After 248 digital lateral radiographs of the foot were submitted to exclusion criteria, three raters independently measured the Böhler's angle on the remaining 130 X-rays in PACS. The variables were analyzed with correlation coefficients, and one-way ANOVA. The repeated measures of ANOVA were computed across age groups (30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60-69 years). The interrater agreement was calculated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Results: The mean value of the Böhler's angle was 34±5° (21-46°). It was not related to age (in general [p=0.057], and across groups [p from 0.107 to 0.122]), sex (p=0.344; p=0.342), and laterality (p=0.618; p=0.617). The interrater reliability was almost perfect (ICC=0.94).

Conclusions: The Böhler's angle was not related to age, sex, and laterality, whereas the interrater agreement was almost perfect.