Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Nov;31(6):e23301.
doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23301. Epub 2019 Aug 9.

Growth velocity curves and pubertal spurt parameters of Peruvian children and adolescents living at different altitudes. The Peruvian health and optimist growth study

Affiliations

Growth velocity curves and pubertal spurt parameters of Peruvian children and adolescents living at different altitudes. The Peruvian health and optimist growth study

Carla Santos et al. Am J Hum Biol. 2019 Nov.

Abstract

Objetive: To estimate the growth parameters of Peruvian children and adolescents living at different altitudes.

Methods: The sample comprised 10 795 Peruvian children and adolescents (5781 girls, aged 6-7 years) from sea level, the Amazon region, and high altitude. Height was measured with standardized techniques. Mathematical and biological growth parameters were estimated using the Preece-Baines growth model I.

Results: Sea-level children and adolescents experienced peak height velocity (PHV) at an earlier age (girls, 8.56 ± 2.37 years; boys, 12.03 ± 0.58 years) were taller at the time of PHV (girls, 144.1 ± 1.9 cm; boys, 154.3 ± 1.4 cm), had higher PHV (girls, 6.23 ± 3.87 cm/year; boys, 7.52 ± 2.31 cm/year), and had a taller estimated final height (girls, 154.2 ± 0.3 cm; boys, 166.3 ± 1.0 cm) compared to those living at high altitude (girls, 152.7 ± 0.7 cm; boys, 162.8 ± 0.8 cm) or in the Amazon region (152.1 ± 0.4 cm; boys, 162.2 ± 0.6 cm). Across all geographical areas, PHV occurred approximately 2 years earlier in girls (9.68 ± 0.99 years) than in boys (12.61 ± 0.42 years), their estimated PHV was 5.88 ± 1.92 cm/year vs 6.45 ± 1.09 cm/year, their size at PHV was 142.2 ± 1.4 cm vs 152.8 ± 0.7 cm, and their final adult height was estimated to be 153.1 ± 0.3 cm vs 164.2 ± 0.7 cm.

Conclusions: Peruvian children and adolescents' physical growth timing and tempo were influenced by their living altitudes. Those living at sea level experienced an earlier age at PHV were taller at time of PHV, had a higher PHV, and had a taller estimated final height compared to those living at higher altitudes. Girls and boys also differed significantly in their growth parameters.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

REFERENCES

    1. Aksglaede, L., Olsen, L. W., Sørensen, T. I., & Juul, A. (2008). Forty years trends in timing of pubertal growth spurt in 157,000 Danish school children. PLoS One, 3(7), e2728.
    1. Ali, M. A., Lestrel, P. E., & Ohtsuki, F. (2000). Secular trends for takeoff and maximum adolescent growth for eight decades of Japanese cohort data. American Journal of Human Biology: The Official Journal of the Human Biology Association, 12(5), 702-712.
    1. Ali, M. A., Lestrel, P. E., & Ohtsuki, F. (2001). Adolescent growth events in eight decades of Japanese cohort data: Sex differences. American Journal of Human Biology: The Official Journal of the Human Biology Association, 13(3), 390-397.
    1. Artiningrum, N. T., Suryobroto, B., & Widiyani, T. (2014). Physical growth of Sasak children at different altitudes in Lombok Island. Hayati Journal of Biosciences, 21(3), 101-110.
    1. Beall, C. M. (2003). High-altitude adaptations. The Lancet, 362, s14-s15.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources