2,106 girls and 2,169 boys from 7 to 17 were investigated in 2002-2004 in three urban settlements of the Saratov region (Povolzhje area): the town of Khvalynsk, population 15,000, with a low level of industrialization; the city of Balakovo, population 220,000, highly industrialized and with a nuclear power station; and the city of Saratov, population around 1,000,000 a regional capital, and also highly industrialized. The whole area, particularly the location of Khvalynsk, is also characterized by iodine deficiency (iodine concentration is 0.78 mkg/kg v. normal values of 5-7 mkg/kg). The program included about 30 anthropometric measurements, evaluation of developmental stages of secondary sexual characteristics, and information on menarcheal age by the status quo method. Information on parental occupation and education, as well as number of children per family was collected by questionnaire. For the analysis all the data were standardized, and further comparisons were made irrespective of age groups. The significance of differences was assessed by one-way ANOVA. For height, weight and chest circumference there are significant differences among the three populations (p < 0.001), with Khvalynsk children being the smallest in body height and weight. However, in chest circumference they are close to or even bigger (girls) than Balakovo children. The children from Khvalynsk are characterized by the lowest values for subcutaneous fat layer, both on the trunk and extremities. For the age of menarche, Khvalynsk girls have the highest values: 13 years 5 months (13.42). In Balakovo and Saratov, the corresponding figures are identical: 13 years 2 months (13.17). Secular changes in Khvalynsk and Saratov children are discussed as compared to the literature.
Introduction. In anthropological and medical practice, in most cases, the method of grouping individuals by chronological age is used in comparative age studies. A number of authors spoke about the need for a different approach to children of the same calendar age and taking into account the level of their morphophysiological development. [Deryabin, 2004]. In this paper, the comparison of age morphological characteristics in the studied groups was carried out using both chronological and biological (skeletal) ages as grouping factors. Materials and methods. Comparative studies were conducted in the combined group of Khalkha Mongols, Turkmens of G. Chardjev, Bashkirs of Beloretsky and Abzelilovsky districts and Chuvash of Yadrin district. The age range of the examined was 7-17 years. The Tanner-Whitehouse method (TW-2) was used to determine individual values of skeletal maturity. The following features were included and analyzed in the analysis: body length, body weight, leg length, shoulder and pelvic diameters, chest girth, the size of the average fat fold, the size of the epiphyses of the forearm and thigh. The body mass index, as well as the chest index and body surface area were calculated. All anthropometric studies were carried out according to a unified methodology within the framework of the standard program adopted at the Moscow State University Research Institute of Anthropology [Bunak, 1941]. Mathematical processing of the data used was carried out using computer programs "Statistica" (versions 5-10) (StatSoft, USA) and "Microsoft Excel". Results and discussion. Estimates of the temporal variability of skeletal age relative to chronological age were carried out in each of the presented groups. The changes in the rates of ontogenesis in different periods of maturation, differing in magnitude, orientation, time of onset and intensity, have been established. Sex differences were found for a number of morphological features when comparing samples by chronological and skeletal ages as grouping factors. It is shown that the main differences between the compared groups by morphological characteristics are associated with the rate of maturation of children and adolescents, as well as the presence of adaptive characteristics formed under the influence of climatic and geographical environmental factors. Conclusion. The use of biological age as a grouping factor is desirable and necessary for an adequate comparison of groups with different rates of ontogenesis and acceleration of development, changing under the influence of environmental factors.
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