Height and skeletal morphology in relation to modern life style

Lower Extremity Strength Relative to Body Mass in Pediatric Female Athletes: Implications for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

This study compared lower extremity (LE) muscular strength by 3 groups of female athletes using chronological age and consideration of age of peak height velocity (PHV). Isometric quadriceps, hamstrings, and hip abductors strength were assessed from physically active, pediatric females. The body mass normalized isometric strength (N m/kg) was compared by the 3 age groups. There were 388 young female athletes (<10 years [14.2%], 11-14 years [48.7%], and 15-18 years [37.1%]). The body mass normalized LE strength was lower in 11-14 years compared with <10 years (quadriceps [P = .001], hamstrings [P = .001], and hip abductors [P = .037]) as well as in 15-18 years relative to <10 years in quadriceps (P = .001) and hamstrings (P = .001). The analysis results were consistent with both chronological age alone and incorporating effects of age of PHV. In short, body mass normalized LE strength (quadriceps, hamstrings, and hip abductors) of 11-14 years females was lower than <10 years females.

Association between lifestyle and height growth in high school students

Introduction

An important indicator that plays a pivotal role in examining the health of individuals living in a community is their height. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between lifestyle and height among female high school students in Dezful, Iran.

Methods

This research was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study. Participants included 351 female high school students who were selected from public and private high schools in Dezful using random cluster sampling. Miller-Smith Lifestyle Assessment Inventory was used to collect data about students' lifestyles, and their height was measured based on self-report.

Results

The total lifestyle score of the study participants was 52.23 ± 11.31. Also, 30.2%, 67.2%, and 2.6% of the students had high, moderate, and low lifestyle scores, respectively. A negative and significant relationship was observed between the total score of lifestyle and its components, that is, nutrition, sleep, exercise, and mental stress, and the height growth of female high school students in Dezful (P < 0.05) according to Pearson's correlation. Results of regression analysis showed that the total lifestyle score and its components could significantly predict the height growth of students.

Conclusion

Our results are indicative of the relationship between lifestyle and its components with height growth among female high school students.

Comparison of frame index reference percentiles in Argentine and European boys and girls

INTRODUCTION

The frame index (FI), based on measurements of elbow breadth and height, is the body frame size parameter most frequently used in child and adolescent populations to assess skeletal robustness. In 2018, the first FI reference percentiles were elaborated with data of boys and girls aged 0-18 years from different European populations. In Argentina, the FI reference values were published in 2022.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aims to compare the Argentine (AR) and European (EU) FI reference percentiles to evaluate possible variation in bone robustness between populations.

METHODS

The values of the 3rd, 50th and 97th percentiles of the AR and EU FI references for boys and girls aged 4-14 years were compared using the Wilcoxon test (p < .05). Percentage differences between means (PDM) were calculated to analyze the magnitude of the differences between both references. The R 3.2.0 program was used to plot the percentile curves.

RESULTS

The FI reference values were lower in AR than in EU in both the 3rd and the 50th percentiles, regardless of sex and age. Conversely, the AR reference values of the 97th percentile were higher than the EU values at most ages.

CONCLUSIONS

The comparison of the AR and EU FI references showed similar age and sex growth patterns. However, differences in percentile values between populations were observed, highlighting the importance of having local references for the evaluation of skeletal robustness.

Testing the cross-applicability of juvenile sex estimation from diaphyseal dimensions

Sex estimation is a crucial component of the biological profile. Stull et al. (2017) have proposed a promising juvenile sex estimation method using long bone measurements taken from a South African sample, providing relatively high classification accuracies and made easy to use via the KidStats web-based app. In this study, we test the models developed by Stull et al. (2017) on an external historic population from Lisbon, Portugal, in order to determine whether the models can be reliably applied to archeological and forensic populations outside of the original population sample. The study sample consisted of 102 individuals (45 females and 57 males) aged under 13 years at death from the Lisbon identified skeletal collection. Measurements from these individuals were used to test the flexible discriminant analysis (FDA) models given by Stull et al. (2017). Allocation accuracies were calculated for boys and girls and children over and under 2 years separately and combined. Our findings show that the models developed by Stull et al. (2017) yield poor accuracy when applied to our external population and thus can potentially be misapplied on archeological skeletal remains or forensic remains of unknown origin. A number of statistical issues may explain why models fail to be transportable or even generalizable, namely multicollinearity, model overfitting and overly optimist bootstrapped cross-validation rates. It is also likely that population differences in size and sexual size dimorphism also affected the applicability of the models. We emphasize the importance of externally validating prediction models, particularly if they are intended to be applied across populations. Our study addresses Stull and co-worker's request for further validation of the method on populations outside of South Africa, as the models cannot be confidently applied in the field until it has been externally validated.

Educational level and its relationship with body height and popliteal height in Chilean male workers

A secular trend in body height has been experienced in many nations and populations, hypothesized to be the result of better living conditions. Educational level has been shown to be closely associated with body height. This study examined the changes in body height and popliteal height in a group of adult Chilean male workers by age cohort and the relationship of these with educational level. The body heights and popliteal heights of 1404 male workers from the Valparaíso and Metropolitan regions of Chile were measured in 2016. The sample was grouped by level of education (primary, secondary, technical and university) and age (21-30, 31-40 and 41-50 years). Robust ANOVA and post-hoc analyses using a one-step modified M-estimation of location were conducted based on bootstrap resampling. Both body height and popliteal height increased from the older to the younger age cohort. The largest increase was from the 41-50 to the 21-30 group, with a 1.1% increase in body height and 1.7% increase in popliteal height. When educational level was introduced into the analysis there was a marked increase in both body height and popliteal height for each cohort, but only in primary- and secondary-educated workers. Despite showing an overall increase in body height and popliteal height, younger workers with the highest levels of education showed fewer differences between them than did older workers with less education. The differences were larger in the older than in the younger cohorts. Similarly, this trend was less clear in workers with higher levels of education (technical and university), probably because of a dilution effect caused by increased access to higher education by workers in the lower income quintiles.

External skeletal robustness and adiposity in adolescents of low socioeconomic status: A cross-sectional analysis of body composition

OBJECTIVES

External skeletal robustness has been decreasing in children, potentially due to a lack of physical activity and the increased prevalence of obesity. However, whether socioeconomic status (SES) influences external skeletal robustness in adolescents has not yet been examined.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was performed to examine 370 Chilean adolescents (16.15 ± 1.01 years old) recruited from distinct educational establishments. Body fat percentage (BF%) was evaluated using Ellis' equations for Hispanic children. Obesity was defined as ≥25 BF% in males and ≥ 30 BF% in females. External skeletal robustness was obtained by measuring the humerus biepicondylar width and height (Frame-Index). SES was obtained through the ESOMAR survey.

RESULTS

Females exhibited significantly greater BF% and lower Frame-Index values than males (P < .001). Obese adolescents (by BF%) had greater Frame-Index values than non-obese adolescents (P < .001). Females of medium-high SES had significantly lower BF% and Frame-Index values than females of medium and medium-low SES. BF% had a positive correlation with Frame-Index values in all SES groups studied, except in males of medium-high SES. As SES decreased, the correlation increased in both sexes, but overall, the correlation was greater in females than males.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this investigation suggest that obesity increases external skeletal robustness in adolescents. Additionally, lower SES corresponded to higher BF% and Frame-Index values. Therefore, modern conditions that influence the prevalence of obesity in adolescence could be affecting bone health in adolescents, primarily in females of medium-low SES.

Evaluation of age-related differences in anterior cruciate ligament size

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to reveal the relation between age and the morphological characteristics of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

METHODS

Thirty-seven young subjects who were diagnosed with a meniscus injury without ACL tear using MRI (15 male and 22 female, median age 26, range 15-49), and 33 elderly subjects for whom knee MRI was performed before uni-compartmental knee arthroplasty (11 male and 22 female, median age 77, range 60-83), were included in this study. In the elderly group, healthy ACL gross morphology was confirmed macroscopically during surgery. In all knees, ACL was detected without any intensity alteration. In the MRI evaluation, using the axial slice revealing the greatest length between the medial and lateral epicondyle of the femur, axial ACL size was evaluated. Using the coronal plane image, the sagittal image was sliced parallel with the native ACL. In the sagittal image of the MRI, the largest area of the ACL was measured. Statistical analysis was performed to reveal the correlation between age and ACL size. Both axial and sagittal ACL areas were compared between the young and elderly groups.

RESULTS

Age and sagittal ACL area were significantly correlated (Pearson's coefficient correlation: - 0.353, P = 0.003). The sagittal ACL area was significantly larger in the young group when compared with the elderly group (P = 0.001). However, when the sagittal ACL area was normalized by the length of Blumensaat's line, no significant difference was observed.

CONCLUSION

For clinical relevance, sagittal ACL size was significantly larger in young subjects. The reason for this difference is likely the difference in knee size. When performing anatomical studies of the ACL using cadaveric knees of elderly specimens, there is the possibility that the ACL size will be underestimated. Considering that the ACL surgery is mainly performed for young subjects, cadavers of younger age should be used in such studies.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Diagnostic study, Level III.

Stunting, starvation and refeeding: a review of forgotten 19th and early 20th century literature

AIM

To scrutinize to what extent modern ideas about nutrition effects on growth are supported by historic observations in European populations.

METHOD

We reviewed 19th and early 20th century paediatric journals in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the third largest European library with an almost complete collection of the German medical literature. During a three-day visit, we inspected 15 bookshelf meters of literature not available in electronic format.

RESULTS

Late 19th and early 20th century breastfed European infants and children, independent of social strata, grew far below World Health Organisation (WHO) standards and 15-30% of adequately-fed children would be classified as stunted by the WHO standards. Historic sources indicate that growth in height is largely independent of the extent and nature of the diet. Height catch-up after starvation was greater than catch-up reported in modern nutrition intervention studies, and allowed for unimpaired adult height.

CONCLUSION

Historical studies are indispensable to understand why stunting does not equate with undernutrition and why modern diet interventions frequently fail to prevent stunting. Appropriateness and effect size of modern nutrition interventions on growth need revision.

Body frame size in school children is related to the amount of adipose tissue in different depots but not to adipose distribution

OBJECTIVES

The main aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that body frame size is related to the amount of fat in different adipose tissue depots and to fat distribution in schoolchildren.

METHODS

Children aged between 5 and 10 years were included in this cross-sectional study (n = 565). Body frame size, adiposity markers (anthropometric, skinfolds thickness, and ultrasound measures), and fat distribution indices were analyzed. Correlation coefficients adjusted by reliability were estimated and analyzed by sex; the significance of the difference between two correlation coefficients was assessed using the Fisher z-transformation.

RESULTS

The sample included primarily urban children; 58.6% were normal weight, 16.1% overweight, 19.6% obese, and the rest were underweight. Markers of subcutaneous adiposity, fat mass and fat-free mass, and preperitoneal adiposity showed higher and significant correlations with the sum of the biacromial + bitrochanteric diameter than with the elbow diameter, regardless of sex. The fat distribution conicity index presented significant but weak correlations; and visceral adipose tissue, hepatic steatosis, and the waist-for-hip ratio were not significantly correlated with body frame size measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Body frame size in school children was related to the amount of adipose tissue in different depots, but not adipose distribution. More studies are needed to confirm this relationship and its importance to predict changes in visceral fat deposition during growth.