MATURITY RATINGS AND THE PREDICTION OF HEIGHT OF SHORT 14-YEAR-OLD BOYS

[摘要] An analysis of the subsequent growth of 111 normal North American 14-year-old boys, 19 of whom had heights of less than 63 in., supports the validity of present-day predictive tables; but it indicates that these tables may have a tendency to underestimate the future height of those boys in whom development of secondary sexual characteristics is slow.The maturity rating is discussed as a valuable item both in the description and evaluation of all young adolescents and in the prediction of adult height.Since the future increments in height of members of this series seemed to be directly related to a boy's maturity rating, the further investigation and clinical trial of a rule of thumb (a predicted gain of 7 in. for those whose rating is II, of 6 in. for those whose rating is III, etc.) for use with 14-year-old boys is suggested. This simple determination may prove especially helpful at those times when it is impossible or undesirable to obtain a roentgenographic estimate of skeletal age.

[学科分类] 儿科学