Pubertal Growth of the Short Normal Girl

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the timing, magnitude and duration of the pubertal spurt for short normal and average height girls, to compare these with Tanner’s standard and to investigate predictors of pubertal growth. Methods: The growth of 46 short normal and 55 control girls, identified at school entry, was monitored throughout puberty. Height and weight were measured at 6-month intervals from which body mass index (BMI) was derived. Annual velocities were calculated and used to estimate the age and magnitude of peak height velocity (PHV). Age of menarche was recorded to the nearest month. Parents provided information on the child’s medical and social history. Results: The mean age at PHV, the magnitude of PHV and age at menarche were similar for both groups and close to Tanner’s 50th centile values. Pre-pubertal BMI predicted age at menarche for short and control girls, accounting for 17% of the variance. There was a tendency for early maturing girls of average stature to have greater PHV. However, this relationship was not observed in short girls, nor did any other variable, genetic or environmental, predict the timing or magnitude of their pubertal spurt. Conclusions: Delayed puberty in short normal girls is unlikely and their growth during puberty is comparable to girls of average height. The pubertal variables measured remain close to Tanner’s original standards for both groups, suggesting the lack of a secular trend towards earlier puberty in girls. The onset of menstruation is influenced by pre-pubertal BMI. However, the clinician should be aware that short normal girls have normal pubertal growth and that no genetic or environmental variable can predict the timing or magnitude of their growth spurt.

Growth in achondroplasia: Development of height, weight, head circumference, and body mass index in a European cohort

“…Total pubertal growth in centimeters is, for the general population, statistically similar between individuals of average height and those that are short, at least within ranges between −2 and −3 SDS (Mulligan, Bailey, Voss, & Betts, ). This also implies that height position in SDS at pubertal start will also be the position of final adult height for those that have average ages for puberty.…”

Psychosocial and energetic factors on human female pubertal timing: a systematized review

“…adverse life events, familial conflict, parental stability, father absence, housing quality, sibling number and order, child behavioural problems and child psychological adjustment). At the very least, studies including SES typically measured it as a scale variable with education, income or both (Adair, 2001;Akther & Islam, 2012;Blell et al, 2008;Deardorff et al, 2011;Ellis & Essex, 2007;Kirchengast & Bauer, 2007;Moffitt et al, 1992;Mulligan et al, 1999;Nieczuja-Dwojacka et al, 2018;Orden et al, 2011;Rao et al, 1998;Tan & Camras, 2015;Windham et al, 2008). Other psychosocial factors used instead of or in addition to income-education SES markers included birth order (Akther & Islam, 2012;Deardorff et al, 2011;Krzyzanowska et al, 2016), recall of time lived in poverty (Reagan et al, 2012), family size or number of siblings (Akther & Islam, 2012;Krzyzanowska et al, 2016;Windham et al, 2008), housing conditions or crowding (Blell et al, 2008;Deardorff et al, 2011;Khan et al, 1996;Krzyzanowska et al, 2016) and social mobility (Krzyzanowska et al, 2016).…”

“…We identified 20 studies (<2% of non-duplicate search results returned) that simultaneously assessed the effects of psychosocial and childhood energetic status on pubertal timing (Table 2). Seven of these studies were designed primarily to investigate energetic effects on pubertal timing (Adair, 2001; Khan et al, 1996; Krzyzanowska et al, 2016; Mulligan et al, 1999; Nieczuja-Dwojacka et al, 2018; Rao et al, 1998; Stark et al, 1989), but analyses adjusted for or separately analysed psychosocial influences as well. Conversely, seven studies explicitly assessed psychosocial effects but adjusted for or separately analysed energetic factors (Braithwaite et al, 2009; Ellis & Essex, 2007; Graber et al, 1995; Moffitt et al, 1992; Reagan et al, 2012; Tan & Camras, 2015; Windham et al, 2008).…”

Hormones and Handedness

“…Since recruitment, height and weight have been measured at 6-monthly intervals until the completion of puberty and annually thereafter. Growth data were used to determine the age at peak height velocity [18]. Wherever possible parents were measured, otherwise an estimate of height was obtained from self/partner.…”