Years Of Chronological Age Research Articles

The contribution of biological maturation to the strength and motor fitness of children

SummaryThe interrelationships among skeletal maturity, body size, strength and motor fitness were examined in American children 7–12 years of chronological age (CA). A total of 391 Black (184 boys, 207 girls) and 349 White (193 boys, 156 girls) children participated in the study. Biological maturity was assessed by the Tanner-Whitehouse II method, 20 bone skeletal ages (SA). Strength items included right and left grip strength, and pushing and pulling strength of the shoulders. Motor fitness items included a 35-yard dash, the standing long jump, and softball throw for distance. The standardized residuals of SA on CA (AG) were used to represent the effects of SA, independent of CA. Interaction terms were also computed by multiplying standardized values of stature (ST), body mass (MA), and AG together in all combinations. Regression analyses showed that the strongest predictor of strength was MA, while AG was the best predictor of motor performance. The interaction terms were also significant predictors of performance, explaining between 2% and 9% of the variance in 19 of the 41 significant regressions. The results highlight the complexity of the interrelationships among body size, biological maturation, strength and motor fitness. The effects of SA in children 7–12 years of age are expressed mainly through body size, but SA apparently influences motor fitness more so than muscular strength.

Brachymetacarpia V in familial short stature

This study was planned to search for the presence of possible tubular bone abnormalities in familial short stature (FSS) as has been previously noted in some reports. Twenty-five (17 male, 8 female) children with FSS aged 10·0 SD 3·6 years were taken as the study group, and 23 (14 male, 9 female) children of normal stature aged 10·6 SD 2·7 years comprised the control group. FSS was defined as height of the child and mean parental height below 3rd centile line, normal growth velocity and bone age within 2 years of chronological age. Other causes of short stature were ruled out. Height, weight, sitting height and arm, forearm and upper arm length measurements were taken by standard methods. A left hand and wrist X-ray was taken to evaluate the length of the 5th metacarpal. Children with FSS had a significantly higher prevalence of brachymetacarpia V (64%) than the children with normal stature (21·7%) ( p

Lumbar spine bone density in Argentine children.

It has been demonstrated that bone mineral density (BMD) in children and adolescents is influenced by individual height. The aim of the present work was to introduce a formula to include height in the BMD analysis. Postero-anterior (PA) (L2-L4) and lateral (L2-L3) lumbar BMD was assessed by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 433 and 393, respectively, healthy Caucasian females from 2 to 20 years of age. A complete medical examination including weight, height, and Tanner puberal stage was performed in all the subjects. Bone age was assessed by left wrist radiographs and analyzed by the TW2 method to insure that it was within 1 year of chronological age. Bone mineral density adjusted for height (BMDcorr = BMC/projected area x height), was calculated for each individual. As analyzed by Tanner stage, both PA and lateral BMD increased up to stage 3, and there were no significant differences among stages 3-5. Results of BMDcorr variations related to Tanner stage suggested that the increase in lateral BMD before puberty might be related to height. PA BMDcorr increased up to Tanner stage 3, and there were no differences among stages 3-5. The BMDCORR approach can be used to get a more reliable analysis of BMD studies in children and adolescents.

Standard RUS skeletal maturation of Tokyo children.

A total of 704 girls and 753 boys, all healthy, from 3 to 18 years of age, from Tokyo and its suburbs, were radiographed on the left hand and wrist in 1986. Their RUS (TW2) skeletal maturity was estimated, the 50th-centile skeletal maturity scores were obtained, and the smoothed RUS maturity curves were determined applying the cubic spline function to the 50th-centile scores. On this maturity curve the score at each 0.1 year of chronological age was obtained and allocated as a given RUS skeletal age. This set of scores and ages we termed the TW2-J RUS, i.e. the Japanese TW2 RUS maturity standard. Comparing this RUS standard with the British standard, the Belgian, the southern Chinese, and the northern Indian, it became clear that Japanese children's RUS skeletal maturity progresses rapidly during puberty (after ages 9 in girls and 11 in boys), and that the maximum score difference between neighbouring age groups was observed at ages 12.5 in girls and 14.5 in boys on the spline-smoothed curve. Japanese children attain the adult stage 1 or 2 years earlier than other groups of children (at ages 15 in girls and 16 in boys).

26 EXCESIVE GROWTH HORMONE SECRETION OF PREPUBERTAL ONSET

A 10.9 years old girl was studied for tall stature, with onset before the age of 6. Her height of 175.6 cm was ± 4.4 SD above the mean. The basal level of growth hormone (GH) was elevated on several occasions (9.9-20 ng/ml). The phenotype was otherwise normal and the bone age was advanced. (12.5 years for 10,9 years of chronological age. The oral glucose loading was ineffective in suppressing GH levels and stimulation tests with clonidine and TRH did nor modify substantially the basal GH levels. Computered Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, failed to show a pituitary mass. The plasma IGF-I level was 4.27 U/ml, within the normal pubertal range. The extraction IGF-I level was elevated (> 2 SD P 50), and the IGF-Binding Protein 3 was 5-10 times the normal control levels, suggesting GH hypersecretion. A terapeutic trial with Bromocryptine was started at age 11.91 years when she was 180.3 cm tall, resulting in a marked slowing of her growth rate. IGF.I levels decreased gradually, without any change in the basal GH levels. After 10 months of treatment she grew only 1.2 cm, less than the expected rate in her first post-menarchal year. We wish to emphasize the usefullness of IGF-I and IGF-BPs measurements in the diagnosis and follow-up of GH hypersecretion.

Growth and skeletal maturation in children with phenylketonuria.

Growth and skeletal maturation was evaluated in 82 children participating in the German Collaborative Study of Children Treated for Phenylketonuria (PKU). Height, weight, head circumference and bone age were recorded at regular intervals for the first 6 years of life. The mean SD score (SDS) for height was not significantly different from zero at study entry, but decreased mainly during the second year of life to a nadir of -0.78 in boys and -0.54 in girls at 2.5 years. During the subsequent years, a significant trend towards a regain of height SDS was noted in both sexes. Weight-for-height SDS was close to zero in both sexes, with a significant continuous increasing trend throughout the observation period. Head circumference SDS decreased in boys during the first year of life from -0.28 to -0.68, whereas girls showed only a minor change. During the further follow-up period, head circumference SDS remained at approximately -0.3 in boys and 0.0 in girls. While the mean verbal and performance IQ of the total study population at 5 and 6 years of age did not differ from a group of 212 healthy non-PKU children, patients with a head circumference SDS less than the population median at 2 years of age exhibited poorer cognitive abilities at school age than those patients with a relative head size greater than the population median. The children with a head circumference less than the median at 2 years had smaller head sizes already at birth; in addition, the change in relative head size during the first 2 years was correlated significantly with cognitive abilities at school age in boys. Mean bone age was identical to chronological age at each time point of observation. The rate of maturation was one year of bone age per year of chronological age. No correlation between phenylalanine intake or phenylalanine concentrations and the rates of body or head growth or skeletal maturation could be established. We conclude that despite adequate weight gain, moderate growth retardation occurred during the first 2 years of life in this group of children treated for PKU. Growth was more compromised in boys than in girls and tended to be compensated during later follow-up. Early infantile head circumference and growth appear to be predictors of cognitive development.

CAN COST EFFECTIVENESS OF GROWTH HORMONE BE IMPROVED?

Top of pageAbstract We report the growth velocities of all growth hormone-deficient, pre-pubertal patients treated since onset of therapy with a daily dose of recombinant hGH in our clinic. As illustrated in the table below, our patients attained adequate growth velocities while treated with approximately 60% of the dose most widely used. The study population consisted of 20 pre-pubertal patients, 9 of whom had “organic” and 11 of whom had idiopaihic etiologies of their growth hormone deficiency. Average age at onset of treatment was 6.6 years. Average bone age maturation during treatment was 1.2 years for each year of chronological age. The growth velocities in the second and third year of treatment did not decline from those of the first year. Of note, Ranke and Guilbaud (Acta Paedtr. Scand [Suppl] 379: 109-115, 1991) have found that high first year doses of hGH have a negative influence on second year growth. Since both cost and metabolic side effects increase with the magnitude of the hGH dose, current recommended dosages may need to be reviewed.

Suicide among elderly white men: development of a profile.

1. Older white men have the highest suicide rate in the nation; a linear increase of suicide occurs with each passing year of chronological age. 2. Elderly who attempt suicide are more likely to communicate their intentions less frequently and to use violent and lethal means. 3. Chronic sleep problems, pain, degenerative illness, or clinical depression may be experienced by older white men at suicidal risk; somatic complaints including imaginary symptoms can mask depression. 4. Educational programs, outreach mental health programs, and enhanced consultation/coordination improve case findings and early intervention. Holistic nursing care, including pain alleviation, depression assessment, and simple comfort measures, are imperative in suicide prevention in the elderly.

Delayed spontaneous pubertal growth spurt in girls with the Ullrich‐Turner syndrome

By means of an appropriate mathematical model (Sager's 2-components-concept) a delayed spontaneous pubertal growth spurt can be demonstrated in girls with 45,X Ullrich-Turner syndrome (UTS) (n1 = 45) as well as in those with 45,X/46,XX mosaicism (n2 = 14) never treated with any growth stimulating drug. On the average, this growth spurt begins later and its extent is smaller (mean growth rate = 3.10 and 2.79 cm, respectively, in the 15th year of chronological age) than in normal girls. The delay in acute growth spurt corresponds very well to the delay of skeletal maturation in the UTS (on the average 2 to 3 years of chronological age).

A Comparison of Ego Identity Status Transition Pathways and Change Rates Across Five Identity Domains

The present retrospective study was designed to explore the question of whether or not ego identity status transition pathways and change rates differ significantly across domains of identity development from adolescence through middle adulthood. A sample of 100 middle- and upper-middle-class New Zealand adults from forty to sixty-three years of age were interviewed regarding the development of values in the areas of vocation, religion, politics, and gender roles, and relationships using an adaptation of the Marcia Ego Identity Status Interview. Raters later assigned an identity status for each year of chronological age for each participant. Preliminary analyses indicated that subgroups of the larger sample differed significantly in terms of identity status transition patterns. Within each of the eight subgroups examined, there were statistically significant differences in transition pathways and change rates across the five identity domains. These findings suggest the importance of examining separate identity domains and controlling for demographic variables in future studies of adult identity development. Results are discussed in terms of Grotevant's process model of identity formation.

Association of adipose tissue distribution with relative skeletal age in boys: The Fels longitudinal study.

The association between relative skeletal age and fat patterning was analyzed by using data from the Fels Longitudinal Study for boys at chronological ages 8 to 17 years. Fat patterning, as indicated by age-specific means for three skinfold thickness indices adjusted for weight/stature2 , was peripheral between 8 and 12 years of chronological age but began to increase in a centripetal direction towards a generalized distribution after 13 years. From 14 to 17 years of chronological age, boys with advanced relative skeletal ages had more centripetal fat patterns, as indicated by the ratio subscapular/(subscapular + triceps) skinfolds, than did those with retarded skeletal ages. The mean annual increment in this ratio was significantly greater from 13 to 14 years of chronological age in boys with advanced relative skeletal ages than in those with retarded relative skeletal ages. Fat pattern index scores at 17 years of chronological age, however, could not be predicted from relative skeletal ages at 7, 11, or 14 years after adjustment for baseline fat pattern index scores and weight/stature2 . It was concluded that fat patterning, as quantified by the ratio indices used in this study, was associated more strongly with other indicators of relative maturity such as secondary sex characteristics in adolescent boys.

27 The Role of Cyproterone Acetate in the Treatment of Isolated Growth Hormone Deficiency

In isolated growth hormone deficiency(i-GH-def) treated with GH, disproportinately advanced bony maturation occasionally followed in early to mid stage of puberty. We studied the effect of cyproterone acetate(CA) on accelerated sexual maturation associated with GH therapy for i-GH-def. Subjects were 7 patients, ages 14-19 years, and 2 females and 5 males. Four of them received 100mg/m2/day of CA for 1 to 3 years. In all, secondery sexual maturation occurred at 13 to 16 years of chronological age and at 9 to 13 years of bony age(BA). Serum testosterone(T) levels rapidly increased at 2nd grade of Tanner in male patients (T:530 -1560 ng/dl). In 3 males without CA treatment, bony maturation advanced rapidly from 2nd to 3rd grade of Tanner and a sensitive period for GH therapy was shortened. After a combined therapy of CA and GH, bony maturation decelerated and serum T levels fell off to prepubertal level (<30 ng/dl). Two females treated with CA exhibited the similar effect. Serum somatomedin-C responses to GH were similar before and after the CA therapy. A ratio of Δ height age/Δ BA for first one year after an appearance of secondary sexual characteristics was below 0.5 in 3 patients without CA treatment, but the ratio reached 1 or above in all of 4 treated with CA. In i-GH-def, CA suppressed the advance of Bony maturation and prolonged the effective period of GH therapy, and consequently may be able to make final height heigher than predicted adult height before CA treatment.

Endocrine characteristics of adolescent menstrual cycles: Impact of early menarche

An initial group of 200 girls, 7–17 years old, was investigated longitudinally 4 times at 1.5-1.5- and 5-year intervals. The present study gives information of the impact of early menarche, a risk factor for breast cancer, on some physical and endocrine characteristics in these subjects. The frequency of ovulation depended significantly on both the time since menarche and the age at menarche. Early menarche was associated with early onset of ovulatory cycles. Even in early puberty, before menarche, the subjects who displayed early menarche during follow-up had higher serum FSH and estradiol concentrations than the girls whose menarche took place after the age of 13.0 years. Adrenal androgen secretion (dehydroepiandrosterone) was not influenced by age at menarche but it increased, as expected, on the basis of chronological age. The group with early menarche was characterized by high circulating estradiol concentrations also after menarche, even in the oldest subjects so far studied, 17–25 years of chronological age. At these ages, the differences in the frequencies of ovulatory cycles were disappearing between the groups formed on the basis of age at menarche. The present findings in pre- and postmenarcheal subjects suggest that the increased risk of breast cancer associated with early menarche is created over several years of exposure to high-level estrogen stimulus.

A NOTE ON THE BONE AGE AT WHICH PATIENTS WITH TRUE ISOLATED GROWTH HORMONE DEFICIENCY ENTER PUBERTY

Nineteen boys with true isolated growth hormone deficiency developed the first stages of puberty at an average bone age of 12.0"years" (Tanner Whitehouse Method 2, RUS score). The average chronological age was 15.0 years. Seven similar girls entered puberty at 10.9"years" in bone age and 13.7 years in chronological age. The means and ranges of bone age at beginning of puberty of these patients are very close to those of normal children.

Prediction of adult height from height, bone age, and occurrence of menarche, at ages 4 to 16 with allowance for midparent height.

Multiple regression equations for predicting the adult height of boys and girls from height and bone age at ages 4 and upwards are presented. There is a separate equation for each half year of chronological age; and for pre- and postmenarcheal girls at ages 11 to 14. These are based on longitudinal data from 116 boys and 95 girls of the Harpenden Growth Study and the London group of the International Children's Centre longitudinal study. The bone age used is the revised version of the Tanner-Whitehouse standards, omitting the score for carpal bones (RUS age, TW 2 system). Boys aged 4 to 12 are predicted in 95% of instances to within plus or minus 7 cm of true height, and at ages 13 and 14 to within plus or minus 6 cm. Girls ages 4 to 11 are predicted to within plus or minus 6 cm; premenarcheal girls aged 12 and 13 to within plus or minus 5 and plus or minus 4 cm, respectively; and postmenarcheal girls aged 12 and 13 to within plus or minus 4 and plus or minus 3 cm, respectively. Prediction can be somewhat imporved by allowing for midparent height. One-third of the amount that midparent height differs from mean midparent height is added or subtracted. An alternative system of equations which are based on initial classification by bone age rather than chronological age is given. These have about the same accuracy as the equations based on initial classification by chronological age, but allowance for bone age retardation is less. It is not clear which system is preferable. The equations probably apply to girls complaining of tall stature and boys or girls complaining of shortness and needing reassurance as to normality. In clearly pathological children, such as those with endocrinopathies, they do not apply.

Skeletal maturation in juvenile diabetes mellitus.

Extract: Skeletal maturation has been examined in a group of diabetic children using their nondiabetic siblings as controls. Serial examinations were done over a five-year period. The diabetic children have a significantly retarded bone age, whether assessed by examination of the hand or of the foot. However, their nondiabetic siblings had comparable retardation of skeletal maturation. Thus, in comparison with his normal sibling, the skeletal development of the diabetic child does not appear to have been affected by his disease process. There is no significant difference between the development of the hand and the foot for either group of children. When the skeletal maturation of the hand and foot is compared for each child, the correlation is 0.998. No significant trend can be demonstrated for the relation between skeletal development discrepancy and chronological age. The initial retardation of about six months at ten years of age and the progressive retardation of about one and a half months during the next three years of life are equivalent to a decrement of a half month in skeletal age for each year of chronological age since birth. Speculation: The moderate, but significant, retardation of both groups of children when compared to the published standards requires explanation. These groups follow a pattern similar to that reported for the children in the longitudinal study of growth in Denver. The most likely factors producing these patterns are the result of sample or standard selection. The children used for the standards in the Atlases were predominantly from families whose socioeconomic level was definitely above average, whereas the diabetic population was more normally distributed in this context. The high correlation between hand and foot in this series indicates the importance of using the detailed assessment technique described in the Atlas Standards and used for this study. Furthermore, the high degree of correlation found between the hand and the body as a whole by REYNOLDS and OSAKAWA [19] would suggest that the hand or the foot is equally representative of total body skeletal maturation.

Maturation Age of 55 Boys in the Little League World Series, 1957

Abstract The X-ray films of the hands of 55 boys in the Little League World Series, 1957, were assessed for maturation (skeletal) age according to Todd's 1937 standards. There were four boys of chronological age 11:0–11:9, 42 of age 12:0–12:11, 9 of age 13:0–13:11. It was found that 16 boys (29%) were retarded, or maturation age less than chronological age; 39 boys (71%) were advanced, or maturation age more than chronological age. With correction of maturation age within ± one year of chronological age, the significant figures are five retarded, 25 advanced, for a total of 30. Of these 17 percent are retarded, 83 percent advanced. It is concluded that Little League ball players of championship caliber are, in general, biologically advanced. Such an advancement is deemed a positive factor in young boys indulging in competitive sports.

Relationship between the Mental and Physical Growth of Girl

Report II contains the results of the research concerning the changes in girl body types in the growing process, and concerning the differences between physically accelerated and retarded girls.The subjects were 370 girls.The results are as follows: (1) Applying Coerper-Hagen's Method to the girls in the 4 to 17 age-group, we came to the following results :i. There are 13 types of body forms in girls physical growth.ii. The girls in age-groups 6, 7, 10; 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 tend to belong to Type C.iii. The girls in the 4, 9 and 16 year age-groups tend to belong to Type A.iv. The 8 and 17 year age-groups show no significant diflerences but are widely distributed into 13 types.v. The 5 year-olds tend to belong to Type H.(2) In order to examine the changes of body type in each girl's growing process, we selected the three age-stages of 7, 12 and compared each stage with each body type. Ten per cent of the girls thus selected showed the same body type in each of the three stages. About 20 per cent of this 10 per cent tended to belong either to Type D, J or K.(3) Many writeres say that the maximum growth in bodily height comes at 12 to 13 years of chronological age. Our research showed, however, that some have their maximum growth in bodily height at 5 to 6 years of chronological age.