Abstract
BACKGROUND: Studying the extent to which delayed skeletal maturation may contribute to childhood height deficits is important for assessing potential for recovery in heights.
AIM: To investigate the discrepancy in height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) based on chronological age (HAZ-CA) compared to bone age (HAZ-BA) and estimate proportion of HAZ deficits attributable to delayed maturation in both sexes.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Using the WHO Growth References, HAZ-CA and HAZ-BA were calculated for Guatemala City children aged 6-8.99 years participating in the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala Longitudinal Study and attending a low or a very low SEP study school. A mixed effects model was developed to describe 1638 HAZ observations (Level 1) in 1107 children (Level 2) by HAZ-type, with interaction terms for HAZ-type by age, sex, school, and birth year.
RESULTS: On average, skeletal age was delayed by 1.1 (SD 1.0) years. Mean HAZ-CA was -1.7 (0.9) and HAZ-BA -0.6 (0.9). Greater proportions of the total height deficit were attributable to delayed skeletal maturation in males (60-87%) versus females (49-63%), and at low- (58-87%) versus very low-SES school (49-71%).
CONCLUSION: Delayed maturation contributes to height deficits, supporting the idea that opportunity for catch-up growth continues past early childhood in both sexes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2510499 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Annals of Human Biology |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 4 Jun 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 4 Jun 2025 |
Bibliographical note
© 2025 The Author(s)Keywords
- Humans
- Child
- Male
- Female
- Body Height
- Guatemala
- Longitudinal Studies
- Poverty
- Bone Development
- Child Development