Cronología del desarrollo puberal en niñas escolares de Santiago: relación con nivel socio-económico e índice de masa corporal / Age of pubertal events in Chilean school age girls and its relationship with socioeconomic status and body mass index
Rev. méd. Chile
; 132(7): 801-808, jul. 2004. tab, graf
Article
in Es
| LILACS
| ID: lil-366579
Responsible library:
CL12.1
RESUMO
Background:
Recent studies in the United States have demonstrated that a significant proportion of girls show thelarche before the age of eight years. Nutritional status, geographic influences and racial factors are known to affect the timing of puberty.Aim:
To evaluate the age of onset of puberty, development of secondary sexual characteristics and menarche in Chilean girls, and its relation to obesity and socioeconomic status. Material andmethods:
Healthy girls attending elementary school, from first to ninth grade in Santiago, Chile, were studied. A pediatric endocrinologist evaluated pubertal development using Tanner classification. Breast development was assessed by inspection and breast palpation. Average age of onset of pubertal events was determined by probit analysis.Results:
A total of 758 girls, aged 5.8 to 16.1 years, were recruited. Obesity, defined as a BMI greater than 90th percentile, was found in 24.4 percent. The age of menarche was 12.7 years, the onset of Tanner stage 2 breast development and pubic hair was at 8.9 and 10.4 years, respectively. Sixteen percent of girls aged 7 to 7,9 years, had thelarche. Upper class girls showed a later onset of breast Tanner stage 4 stage than low-middle class girls. Obesity was not found in logistic regression analysis to be a significant predictive factor in the onset of puberty.Conclusions:
The age of menarche has not changed in the last thirty years, but an earlier onset of thelarche has occurred. The high frequency of thelarche between 7 and 8 years suggests that the normal age of breast development should be revised.
Full text:
1
Index:
LILACS
Main subject:
Socioeconomic Factors
/
Puberty
Type of study:
Health_economic_evaluation
/
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
America do sul
/
Chile
Language:
Es
Journal:
Rev. méd. Chile
Journal subject:
MEDICINA
Year:
2004
Type:
Article