Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia
Stepanova A.V., e-mail: alevtina.s.mail@yandex.ru; Godina E.Z., D.Sc., prof., ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0692-420X, e-mail: egodina11@gmail.com; Khomyakova I.A., assistant prof., Ph.D., ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2811-2034, e-mail: irina-khomyakova@yandex.ru; Zadorozhnaya L.V., Ph.D., ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3143-3226, e-mail: mumla@rambler.ru
Introduction. Variability of growth and development characteristics is a reflection of ontogenetic plasticity of growth process. In this sense, characteristics reached by each child are unique and vary within certain limits. The children with tall stature deserve special attention due to their specific physical and functional status. Aim of the present paper is to study children with tall stature and compare their patterns of growth with average data collected by the authors in different years. Materials and Methods. The sample under study consists of tall Russian children investigated in Moscow in 1988/89. The total number of subjects included 132 individuals: 39 boys and 93 girls from 6 to 17 years old. Each person was examined twice, with the interval varying from 2 months to 1 year. The program included more than 40 standard anthropometric measurements, the evaluation of somatotypes and secondary sexual characters. For comparison, data on Moscow boys and girls from 7 to 17 examined in 1982–1984 (955 girls and 1198 boys) and in 1996–2000 (1458 girls and 1536 boys) have been used. Statistical analysis was performed with Statistica 8.0 software. Percentile reference curves were developed for a number of characters for the 1982–1984 and 1996–2000 data sets. These curves were further used as a base for an individual monitoring of growth patterns of children with tall stature. Results and Discussion. Individual monitoring of girls with tall stature showed that they significantly exceeded the average values of height in both control groups. Minimal values in tall girls were not lower than 50th percentile, and maximal values were significantly above 97th percentile. Individual values of body weight and body mass index are significantly variable compared to the reference curves, with minimal and maximal scattering in pubertal period. At the end of puberty, stabilization of growth processes occurred and the gains in body height and weight became much lower. The same patterns are typical for the boys with tall stature. In chest circumference and shoulder width boys and girls with tall stature were also exceeding the counterparts from the control groups. The analysis of somatotype distribution showed that among children with tall stature the frequency of the so-called indefinite type (Shtefko-Ostrovsky scheme) was much higher, which could be explained by a certain displasticity of growth in tall children. The frequency of the «thorax» type was also high, while the «asthenic» type was practically absent. This result looks quite unusual because among the 1996–2000 children the percentage of children with this somatotype was rather high. The process of sexual development of children with tall stature showed an ordinary sequence of puberty events. The appearance of all sexual characters in girls (Ma, P, Ax, Me) and in boys occurred much earlier than in the 1982–1984 и 1998–2000 groups. Conclusion. Early beginning of puberty together with the intensive growth could serve as an evidence of the acceleration of growth in children with tall stature at intragroup level.
anthropology, human auxology, growth and development, growth tempos, children with tall stature, percentile growth references, somatotypes, sexual development
Цит.: Stepanova A.V., Godina E.Z., Khomyakova I.A., Zadorozhnaya L.V. Monitoring of growth processes in children with tall stature // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2012; 4/2012; с. 84-97
Download text