Anthropometric parameters as predictors for iliopsoas muscle strength in healthy girls and in girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

In this study iliopsoas muscle strength was measured by portable dynamometer and it was explored to what extent independent predictors (age, body weight, body height and body mass index) affect iliopsoas strength in healthy subjects and in subjects with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The study population was consisted of 183 girls (90 healthy girls and 93 girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis). Student t test analysis showed no differences in maximal voluntary isometric contraction between healthy girls and girls with scoliosis. Independent variables predicted significantly iliopsoas strength in healthy group (r=0.96, p<0.01) and in scoliosis group (r=0.94, p<0.001). Separate analysis with respect to types of scoliosis demonstrated that independent variables significantly predict iliopsoas strength in right thoracic (r=0.97, p<0.01), left thoracic (r=0.98, p=0.004), right thoracic lumbar (r=0.97, p<0.01) and left lumbar (r=0.96, p<0.01) scoliosis subgroups. In healthy girls iliopsoas strength was mostly predicted by body weight, followed by body height and body mass index. In girls with scoliosis body weigth was the strongest predictor of iliopsoas strength and was followed by curvature angle degree.     

Size and shape modifications in Sardinian adolescent girls

In females, menarche is the defining moment of puberty, the period of life when the greatest body changes occur. In the present study, the metric and morphological variations associated with sexual maturation are defined in 155 Sardinian girls (10-17 years) and the role of some potentially influential variables is discussed: age, age at menarche and time since menarche. We studied thirty-eight anthropometric variables, the fat-free mass and the fat mass estimated by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the difference between pre- and post-menarcheal girls of the same age (Student's t-test) and to evaluate the different role played by the variables (principal components analysis, cluster analysis, multiple regression). The results demonstrate that the body dimensions of the adolescent girls mainly increase in concomitance with sexual maturation. The age at menarche influences the fat mass but not the distribution of visceral and subcutaneous fat. The time since menarche has also no effect on the distribution of subcutaneous fat.     

Intrauterine growth retardation and puberty in girls.

Some, albeit not all studies on the relationship between intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and female pubertal development have found an earlier and rapidly progressing puberty as well as concomitant disorders of related functional systems such as polycystic ovary syndrome and short stature. These pubertal changes are part of a growing list of IUGR-related diseases, which includes non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease. A pulsatile release of gonadotropin releasing hormone is thought to be a conditio-sinne-qua-non for the initiation of puberty. In the absence of prospective studies on gonadotropin releasing hormone pulse patterns in IUGR-children other markers of pubertal development such as age at menarche have been deployed. From these studies it is not clear, however, whether the findings of an earlier onset of puberty in IUGR-girls merely reflect a more rapid progression of puberty. Both the role for IUGR and the mechanisms behind the onset of puberty are still elusive. Assuming a connection between IUGR and pubertal development, parallels can be drawn between hypotheses on the longterm consequences of IUGR and hypotheses on the initiation of puberty. For example, the somatometer concept proposes a role for fat mass in the initiation of puberty, which is compatible with the hypothesis on non-skeletal catch-up growth after IUGR. The debate on the origins of puberty and the role of IUGR mainly focuses on nature and nurture. Judgmentally, studies in mono- and dizygotic twins discordant for birth weight may be of particular help.     

Physique and family variables in university girls in Britain

Abstract

In a large sample of girls admitted to the University of Warwick, 1971–81, physique, as measured by height, weight, and ponderal index, was examined in relation to family variables and socioeconomic class. Not only do girls of different social classes enter the university at different average ages, but also the family size from which they come varies. There are differences between social classes in mean height, and the secular trend to increasing height continues.     

Menarche in Newcastle upon Tyne girls

Using data for 699 white girls from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, who were born in 1962, the authors examine the relationship between age at menarche and selected social and anthropometric variables. Factors considered include family size, birth order, father's occupation, birth weight, and height and weight at five years of age and at menarche (SUMMARY IN FRE, GER)     

Why boys will be boys and girls will be girls: Human sex development and its defects

Among the most defining events of an individual's life, is the development of a human embryo into male or a female. The phenotypic sex of an individual depends on the type of gonad that develops in the embryo, a process which itself is determined by the genetic setting of the individual. The development of the gonads is different from any other organ, as they possess the potential to differentiate into two functionally distinct organs, testes, or ovaries. Sex development can be divided into two distinctive processes, “sex determination,” which is the commitment of the undifferentiated gonad into either a testis or an ovary, a process that is genetically programmed in a critically timed manner and “sex differentiation,” which takes place through hormones produced by the gonads, once the developmental sex determination decision has been made. Disruption of any of the genes involved in either the testicular or ovarian development pathway could lead to disorders of sex development. In this review, we provide an insight into the factors important for sex determination, their antagonistic actions and whenever possible, references on the “prismatic” clinical cases are given. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 108:365–379, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone in prepubertal and pubertal girls.

Estimations of immunoreactive LH-RH and LH in pooled sera of girls, adult women and postmenopausal women have been carried out. The girls were divided into three groups: I--girls aged 2--4 years, II--girls aged 5--8 years and III--girls 9--12 years of age. The estimated concentrations of LH-RH in particular groups were as following: in group I--1.2 +/- 0.2 pg/ml, in group II--2.2 +/- 0.4 pg/ml, in group III 31.0 +/- 4.4 pg/ml, in adult women 6.3 +/- 1.8 pg/ml. and in postmenopausal women 16.6 +/- 2.4 pg/ml. The concentrations of LH in the same groups were 4.3 +/- 0.7; 4.5 +/- 0.8; 11.0 +/- 1.4, 23.3 +/- 2.4; and 120.0 +/- 14.7 mIU/ml, respectively. The authors suggest that the sexual maturation of girls is initiated by the enhanced hypothalamic activity, reflected in higher concentrations of immunoreactive LH-RH in peripheral serum.     

Treatment of delayed puberty and hypogonadism in girls.

The therapeutic management of female delayed puberty depends more on the objectives than on the underlying cause. We will have to consider the development of sex characteristics, the occurrence of menarche and the promotion of growth. In this paper, we will review how girls with delayed puberty of different etiologies can benefit from the following therapeutic alternatives: follow-up without hormonal therapy; administration of growth hormone, anabolic steroids (e.g. oxandrolone) or estrogens and progestogens, and psychological support.     

Prevalence and characteristics of energy underreporting in African-American girls

Objective: To determine the frequency and characteristics of energy intake underreporting in African‐American preadolescent girls as part of the Girls health Enrichment Multi‐site Studies (GEMS). Methods and Procedures: Energy intake was summarized using the Nutrition Data System for Research software and computed as a 3‐day average of 24‐h dietary recalls. Physical activity was assessed by an accelerometer, basal metabolic rate (BMR) was estimated using the World Health Organization's prediction equation, and underreporting of caloric intake was based on the Goldberg equation. Results: Using a conservative criterion for determining energy underreporting, we classified 54.8% of the girls as underreporters; 45.2% were classified as plausible reporters. Factors related to underreporting included higher BMI (β = ?0.506, P ≤ 0.001), older age (β = ?0.159, P = 0.001), greater unhealthy eating behaviors (β = ?0.118, P = 0.025), and higher self‐efficacy for diet (β = ?0.098, P = 0.033). Discussion: Underreporting of dietary intake, specifically energy, is common in African‐American preadolescent girls and can be partially explained by weight status and psychosocial variables. The extent of dietary underreporting in specific and high‐risk populations is largely unknown and could be evaluated by routinely including a report of such an index in future research studies.     

Psychic and intellectual development in girls with precocious puberty

Examinations of psychic and intellectual development were made in 9 girls with idiopathic precocious puberty. The question was, whether precocious somatic maturation corresponds with an accelerated development of intellectual efficiency and psycho-social behaviour. Whereas psychodiagnostic investigations and questionnaires to parents and teachers suggested age-related, normal results, there was found a remarkable tendency to elevated IQ values, averaging 123. Complex influences as increased general vitality, elevated pression towards psycho-social achievement and accelerated maturation of certain brain areas are discussed as conditional factors.     

Zinc status and bone mineralisation in adolescent girls.

The aim of the project was to assess the relationship between zinc status and bone mineralisation in pre-menarcheal adolescent girls. One hundred and thirty-nine healthy pre-menarcheal girls (Tanner pubic hair stage < or = 4), aged 12.4 +/- 1.0 years, had two visits at an interval of 2 years. Serum and urine zinc concentrations (Zn S; Zn U; Zn U/ creatinine), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I), and markers of bone turn-over, i.e. osteocalcin and parathormone (PTH), concentrations were measured at the first visit. Lumbar (L2-L4) bone mineral content and density (BMC, BMD) were measured at both visits. BMC and BMD and their increase at the follow-up after 2 years were compared with biochemical data by multiple regression. The stage of puberty was added as a covariable in the analysis. At the first visit, a significant correlation was found between sexual maturity and initial BMC, BMD, height, weight, and IGF-I. Zn S was negatively correlated with osteocalcin. Zn U showed a positive correlation with BMC, BMD, IGF-I, height, weight, and PTH. At the second visit, sexual maturity showed a positive correlation with BMD and weight increments and a negative one with BMC and height gains. Zn S was significantly related with BMD increase. These correlations suggest that zinc plays a role in normal growth and bone mineralisation during puberty onset.