Interrelationships among measures of somatic, skeletal, dental, and sexual maturity

Abstract

The interrelationships among five measures of physiologic maturity for 50 French-Canadian girls are evaluated—(1) menarche, (2) peak height velocity (PHV), (3) 75% skeletal maturity, (4) appearance of the ulnar sesamoid, and (5) 90% dental development. The mean ages of occurrence of the events differed significantly ( P < 0.01). Menarche and 90% dental maturity showed the least variability. Ages of PHV, menarche, and 75% skeletal maturity were significantly correlated ( P < 0.05). Age of menarche was most closely associated with PHV. The appearance of the ulnar sesamoid was highly correlated with 75% skeletal maturity; both were equally related to the ages of PHV and menarche. The age at which French-Canadian girls attain 90% of their dental development showed no significant relationships with the other maturity indicators. The results imply that the mechanisms controlling dental development are independent of somatic and/or sexual maturity.