Rate of skeletal maturation in relation to secondary sexual development during female adolescence

Abstract

The relationship between rate of skeletal maturation (interval from capping of hand epiphyses to fusion of radius) and rate of secondary sexual development was studied in a longitudinal sample of 76 normal Turkish girls. The interval from capping to fusion correlated inversely and significantly with the stage of secondary sexual development (SSD) attained at capping. It is concluded that the rate of skeletal maturation and expected growth after the onset of capping are not constant and depend on the stage of secondary sexual characteristic development, the former being shorter with more advanced sexual maturation. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.