Abstract
BackgroundTo evaluate the concordance of skeletal age (SA) with two predicted estimates of biological maturity status in elite British youth tennis players.MethodParticipants were 71 male and female elite youth tennis players aged 8 to 16 years. Weight, height, and sitting height were measured. SA (Fels method) was the criterion indicator of maturity status. Maturity status was predicted with two methods: predicted age at peak height velocity and percentage of predicted adult height at the time of observation. Players were classified as late, average (on time), or early maturing with each method. Concordance of classifications was evaluated with kappa coefficients and Spearman’s rank order correlations.ResultsKappa coefficients between maturity status classifications were low in both sexes, − 0.11 to 0.22, while Spearman’s rank order correlations between maturity status classifications based on SA and the percentage of predicted mature height were moderate in males (0.35) and females (0.25), but the corresponding correlations based on predicted age at peak height velocity (PHV) varied, moderate and negative in boys (− 0.37) and low and positive in girls (0.11). Concordance of maturity status classifications based on the prediction methods and SA among tennis players was thus limited.ConclusionsMaturity status based on the percentage of predicted mature height at the time of observation correlated better with maturity status based on SA in contrast to status based on predicted age at PHV in this sample of elite youth tennis players.
Highlights
To evaluate the concordance of skeletal age (SA) with two predicted estimates of biological maturity status in elite British youth tennis players
The present study considered the appropriateness of maturity status classifications based on currently used predictive methods among elite male and female tennis players of Caucasian ancestry
The results suggested that the noninvasive indicators were limited in their ability to classify elite youth tennis players by maturity status, at the extremes of the maturity status continuum
Summary
To evaluate the concordance of skeletal age (SA) with two predicted estimates of biological maturity status in elite British youth tennis players. Available research on elite British youth tennis players, though limited, highlights a predisposition towards early maturing individuals [6, 7], which suggests that individual differences in growth and maturity status contribute to the identification and selection in the sport. Secondary sex characteristics (stages of breast, pubic hair and genital development, testicular volume, pre- or post-menarche) are reliable and objective indicators of maturity status but are limited to the interval of puberty [4]. Both SA and pubertal stages are often considered “intrusive” in that the former requires a small dose of radiation, while the latter are increasingly viewed as an invasion of personal privacy.
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