Bone Age at Onset of Pubertal Growth Spurt and Final Height in Normal Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the variation in bone age at the onset of the pubertal growth spurt (PGS) on pubertal height gain and on final height. The subjects were 26 boys and 28 girls who had been treated at the Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Tohoku University, and had reached their final heights. Each child had longitudinal growth record and several hand and wrist X-ray films.A significant positive correlation between the bone age and height at the onset of PGS was recognized in boys (r=0.734, P<0.01, n=26) and girls (r=0.655, P<0.01, n=28). A significant negative correlation between the bone age at the onset of PGS and the pubertal height gain was recognized in boys (r=-0.732, P<0.01) and girls (r=-0.775, P<0.01). However, there was no significant correlation between final height and bone age at the onset of PGS.We found that the rate of bone maturation during puberty negatively correlated with the bone age at the onset of PGS and although bone age at the onset of PGS was distributed over a wide range, bone age at PHV was concentrated around 13 years in boys and 11 years in girls.