Association between nutritional status and puberty onset in boys / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To explore the relationship between nutritional status and puberty onset in boys, and to provide a reference for promoting the development of physical and mental health of boys.@*Methods@#A total of 2 724 boys aged 7 to 12 years from grade 2 to 6 were recruited from Xiamen city by cluster sampling method in 2017. The nutritional status was assessed by physical examination, pubertal developmental status was evaluated by rating scales of Tanner and Prader orchidometer, and puberty timing was determined by the P25 age of puberty onset. The association between nutritional status and puberty onset was estimated by logistic regression model.@*Results@#Pubertal onset was found in 29.0% of the boys and the incidence of early pubertal timing was 2.9%. The prevalence of puberty onset in wasting, normal weight, overweight and obesity boys was 19.6%, 28.7%, 34.4% and 31.5%, respectively. The age of puberty onset was significantly earlier in obese boys (F=3.23, P<0.05). The results of Logistic regression analysis showed that with the increase of BMI, the possibility of puberty onset and risk of early pubertal timing increased. After adjusting for confounding factors, the odds of puberty onset in boys with wasting decreased by 64.0% (OR=0.36, 95%CI=0.22-0.60), the possibility of puberty onset and risk of early pubertal timing in boys with obesity increased by 78.3% (OR=1.78, 95%CI=1.14-2.79) and 192.9% (OR=2.93, 95%CI=1.46-5.86), respectively. These relationships were more pronounced in boys of households with lower economic level (P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#BMI was positively correlated with puberty onset in boys, the odds of puberty onset and risk of early pubertal timing were significantly increased in obese boys, especially in those with low household economic level.