Ossification characteristics of the hand and the cervical vertebrae and correlation between the two techniques as indicators of somatic maturation in children from 8 to 17 years

Abstract

Objective: To determine the characteristics of hand-wrist and cervical vertebral ossification and establish the correlation between these two techniques as indicators of somatic maturation in children between 8 and 17 years old.
 Materials and Methods: A cross sectional and correlational study was carried out in 200 children between 8 and 17 years old, born in the same city. Children should show no systemic diseases that affect the skeletal development or craniofacial syndromes. Lateral cephalometric radiographs and carpogram test were taken in the same day. The frequency of the variables such as gender, carpal and cervical vertebrae maturation indexes was established. A correlation matrix (Pearson’s coefficient) for the quantitative variables (height and weight) and the variables that explain the indexes, and the ordinal scale variables and Kendall’s Tau-b statistics were done. Regression models were developed to predict the skeletal maturation index (SMI).
 Results: According to the age and level of skeletal maturation (skeletal maturation assessment - SMA), the ossification stages begin earlier in women than in men (women SMI1: 8.4 +0.8 years and in men to 10.3 +1.5 years). Depending on the correlation model, there is a direct relation between height and shape of vertebrae with the SMI. The coefficient of determination (R2) indicated that 86% of SMI is explained by the two analyzed variables.
 Conclusions: There was a statistically significant correlation between height and shape of the vertebral body with stages of skeletal maturation index (SMI).