Growth Characteristics of Early and Late Developers

Abstract

The subjects of this study have been divided into three groups according to the chronological ages at which puberty occurred, and the different characteristics of the growth of these groups have been examined. Several criteria could have provided a basis for the subdivision, and of these the age of PHV has been chosen. This was because it was an age at which all the children had been seen, and an age when pubertal staging could be defined more precisely than others (except the menarche in girls). However, as will be seen, had other criteria been chosen they would not necessarily have corresponded precisely in selecting the subgroups and the criterion of PHV has been considered the best index of the overall pubertal growth process. The three groups have been selected as ‘early’ (the earliest 20% at the age of PHV), ‘mid or average age’ (those comprising the 20–80% range) and ‘late’ (the oldest 20% to reach PHV). Inevitably the numbers in the early and late groups, particularly the girls, were small and conclusions about differences between the groups must be drawn cautiously.