Age of onset of a normally timed pubertal growth spurt affects the final height of children

Abstract

Background:The exact nature of the relationship between the age of onset of puberty and final height in normally maturing children is controversial. Some authors have claimed that the age of pubertal onset does not affect final height, and others have claimed the opposite. We hypothesized that both height and the age of onset of the pubertal growth spurt (PGS) are correlated to final height. Methods: The height measurements of 335 children (162 girls) were analyzed in an observational retrospective study. The age and height at the onset of the PGS were computed from the equations of the Karlberg's infancy-childhood-puberty model. results: A very low correlation was found between the age of onset of the PGS and final height. However, the correlation became very high when the parameter "height at onset of the PGS" was included in the regression analysis. The model was found reliable when tested on growth data of 60 Israeli children. conclusions: Final height is influenced by both height and the age of onset of the PGS in normal maturing children. A normal but early puberty exerts a negative effect on final height. A delayed PGS exerts a positive effect on final height. P ediatricians and pediatric endocrinologists are well aware that precocious puberty exerts a negative influence on statural growth and final height. However, the exact nature of the relationship between the age of onset of puberty, statural growth, and final height in normally maturing children is controversial. Some authors have claimed that age of pubertal onset does not affect final height (Marshall and Tanner (1), Vizmanos et al. (2)), and others have claimed the opposite (Bourguignon (3), Karlberg (4), and Tanaka (5)).It is against this background that we hypothesized that both height and the age of onset of the pubertal growth spurt (PGS) are correlated to final height. Since the pattern of statural growth in childhood is nonlinear, we also hypothesized that a nonlinear equation would be more appropriate than a linear equation to describe the influence of age and height at the age of onset of the PGS on final height. Hence, the purpose of our study was to test the hypothesis that final height correlates to both age and height at the onset of the PGS and to mathematically describe this correlation. This report informs on the results of our testing of these hypotheses and provides a mathematical description of the relationship between final height and the age and height at the onset of the PGS. RESULTSThe mean age of the onset of the PGS for boys was 11.9 y ± 1.1 (SD) and 10.0 ± 0.7 y for girls. Specifically, the age of onset of the PGS was between (i) 8.5 and 9.4 y in 2 boys, (ii) 9.5 and 10.4 y in 16 boys, (iii) 10.5 and 11.4 y in 48 boys, (iv) 11.5 and 12.4 y in 60 boys, (v) 12.5 and 13.4 y in 33 boys, (vi) 13.5 and 14.4 y in 16 boys, and (vii) 14.5 and 15.5 y in 3 boys. For girls, the age of onset of the PGS was between (i) 7.5 and 8.4 y in 2 girls, (ii) 8.5 and 9.4 y in 47 girls, (iii) 9.5 and 10.4 y in 71 girls, (iv) 10.5 and 11.4 y in 43...

Disparities in children’s vocabulary and height in relation to household wealth and parental schooling: A longitudinal study in four low- and middle-income countries

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