TY - JOUR
T1 - Early life growth predicts pubertal development in South African adolescents
AU - Lundeen, Elizabeth A.
AU - Norris, Shane A.
AU - Martorell, Reynaldo
AU - Suchdev, Parminder S.
AU - Mehta, Neil K.
AU - Richter, Linda M.
AU - Stein, Aryeh D.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by the Laney Graduate School at Emory University. The Birth-to-Twenty study has received financial and logistic support from the Wellcome Trust (United Kingdom), the Medical Research Council of South Africa, the Anglo-American Chairman's Fund, the University of the Witwatersrand, the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa, and the South African National Research Foundation. This is an open access article distributed under the CC-BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Background: Given global trends toward earlier onset of puberty and the adverse psychosocial consequences of early puberty, it is important to understand the childhood predictors of pubertal timing and tempo. Objective:We examined the association between early growth and the timing and tempo of puberty in adolescents in South Africa. Methods: We analyzed prospectively collected data from 1060 boys and 1135 girls participating in the Birth-to-Twenty cohort in Soweto, South Africa. Height-for-age z scores (HAZs) and body mass index-for-age z scores (BMIZs) were calculated based on height (centimeters) and body mass index (kilograms per meter squared) at ages 5 y and 8 y. The development of genitals, breasts, and pubic hair was recorded annually from 9 to 16 y of age with the use of the Tanner sexual maturation scale (SMS). We used latent class growth analysis to identify pubertal trajectory classes and also characterized children as fast or slow developers based on the SMS score at 12 y of age. We used multinomial logistic regression to estimate associations of HAZ and BMIZ at ages 5 and 8 y with pubertal development. Results: We identified 3 classes for pubic hair development (for both girls and boys) and 4 classes for breast (for girls) and genital (for boys) development. In girls, both HAZ and BMIZ at age 5 y were positively associated with pubic hair development [relative risk ratio (RRR): 1.57, P < 0.001 and RRR: 1.51, P < 0.01, respectively], as was BMI at age 8 y (RRR: 2.06, P = 0.03); similar findings were observed for breast development. In boys, HAZ and BMIZ at age 5 y were positively associated with pubic hair development (RRR: 1.78, P < 0.001 and RRR: 1.43, P < 0.01, respectively); HAZ at age 5 y was associated with development of genitals (RRR: 2.19, P < 0.01). Conclusion: In boys and girls, both height and body mass index in early childhood predicted the trajectory of pubertal development. This may provide a tool to identify children at risk of early pubertal onset.
AB - Background: Given global trends toward earlier onset of puberty and the adverse psychosocial consequences of early puberty, it is important to understand the childhood predictors of pubertal timing and tempo. Objective:We examined the association between early growth and the timing and tempo of puberty in adolescents in South Africa. Methods: We analyzed prospectively collected data from 1060 boys and 1135 girls participating in the Birth-to-Twenty cohort in Soweto, South Africa. Height-for-age z scores (HAZs) and body mass index-for-age z scores (BMIZs) were calculated based on height (centimeters) and body mass index (kilograms per meter squared) at ages 5 y and 8 y. The development of genitals, breasts, and pubic hair was recorded annually from 9 to 16 y of age with the use of the Tanner sexual maturation scale (SMS). We used latent class growth analysis to identify pubertal trajectory classes and also characterized children as fast or slow developers based on the SMS score at 12 y of age. We used multinomial logistic regression to estimate associations of HAZ and BMIZ at ages 5 and 8 y with pubertal development. Results: We identified 3 classes for pubic hair development (for both girls and boys) and 4 classes for breast (for girls) and genital (for boys) development. In girls, both HAZ and BMIZ at age 5 y were positively associated with pubic hair development [relative risk ratio (RRR): 1.57, P < 0.001 and RRR: 1.51, P < 0.01, respectively], as was BMI at age 8 y (RRR: 2.06, P = 0.03); similar findings were observed for breast development. In boys, HAZ and BMIZ at age 5 y were positively associated with pubic hair development (RRR: 1.78, P < 0.001 and RRR: 1.43, P < 0.01, respectively); HAZ at age 5 y was associated with development of genitals (RRR: 2.19, P < 0.01). Conclusion: In boys and girls, both height and body mass index in early childhood predicted the trajectory of pubertal development. This may provide a tool to identify children at risk of early pubertal onset.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Body mass index
KW - Child growth
KW - Latent class growth analysis
KW - Puberty
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U2 - 10.3945/jn.115.222000
DO - 10.3945/jn.115.222000
M3 - Article
C2 - 26843589
AN - SCOPUS:84960401289
SN - 0022-3166
VL - 146
SP - 622
EP - 629
JO - Journal of Nutrition
JF - Journal of Nutrition
IS - 3
ER -