Application of auxological methods, including dental age estimation, in the assessment of delayed puberty in girls in gynecological practice

Developmental gynecology uses methods practiced in auxology — the science of human ontogenetic development. An important and jointly used concept in gynecology and auxology is the concept of developmental age, which, unlike calendar age, is a measure of the biological maturity of the organism, indicating the stage of advancement in the development of certain features or body systems. Developmental age assessment methods include: a) morphological (somatic) age — body height and weight, b) secondary sex characteristics — breast in girls, genitalia (penis and testes) in boys, and pubic hair in both sexes, c) bone age — hand and wrist x-ray, and d) dental age. An important marker of developmental age is also age at menarche, treated as a late indicator of puberty in girls. All of these methods are useful in the context of assessing regularity and disorders of puberty, such as delayed puberty. The paper discusses developmental age assessment methods that can be used to diagnose delayed puberty as well as the causes of delayed puberty in girls. It should be emphasized that in assessing the process of physical development of a given individual, the cooperation of specialists in the field of developmental gynecology, pediatrics, auxology, dentistry, endocrinology, and dietetics would be the most desirable

The Mediating Role of the Gut Microbiota in the Physical Growth of Children

Gut microbiota succession overlaps with intensive growth in infancy and early childhood. The multitude of functions performed by intestinal microbes, including participation in metabolic, hormonal, and immune pathways, makes the gut bacterial community an important player in cross-talk between intestinal processes and growth. Long-term disturbances in the colonization pattern may affect the growth trajectory, resulting in stunting or wasting. In this review, we summarize the evidence on the mediating role of gut microbiota in the mechanisms controlling the growth of children

Catch-Up Growth as a Risk Factor for Rapid Weight Gain, Earlier Menarche and Earlier Pubertal Growth Spurt in Girls Born Small for Gestational Age (SGA)—A Longitudinal Study

Most children born small for gestational age (SGA) have rapid postnatal growth. Despite its positive aspects, catch-up growth may affect the level of adipose tissue in the pre-pubertal and pubertal periods and therefore affect the age of puberty. The aim of this study was to determine the associations between size at birth, catch-up growth in infancy, BMI in peripubertal period, age at menarche, and the parameters of adolescent growth spurt of body height in girls born SGA. For 297 girls (22.6% SGA; 77.4% appropriate for gestational age (AGA)) complete body weight and height measurements and age at menarche were obtained. Adolescent growth spurt parameters were estimated using the JPA2 model (AUXAL SSI 3.1). Calculations were made in the Statistica 13 program using the Kruskal-Wallis and Kaplan–Meier tests. Girls born SGA with catch-up had the highest BMIs at the age of 8 years (H = 94.22, p < 0.001) and at menarche (H = 58.21, p < 0.001), experienced menarche earliest (H = 21.77, p < 0.001), same as the onset (H = 6.54, p = 0.012) and peak height velocity (H = 11.71, p = 0.003) of their adolescent growth spurt compared to SGA girls without catch-up and AGA girls. In SGA girls, catch-up growth has far-reaching consequences such as increased risk of fat accumulation and a rapid transition to puberty

The Mediating Role of the Gut Microbiota in the Physical Growth of Children

Gut microbiota succession overlaps with intensive growth in infancy and early childhood. The multitude of functions performed by intestinal microbes, including participation in metabolic, hormonal, and immune pathways, makes the gut bacterial community an important player in cross-talk between intestinal processes and growth. Long-term disturbances in the colonization pattern may affect the growth trajectory, resulting in stunting or wasting. In this review, we summarize the evidence on the mediating role of gut microbiota in the mechanisms controlling the growth of children

Body composition and lung function in adults with Cystic Fibrosis

The study aimed to assess: (1) differences in nutritional status and lung function between CF patients and the control group; (2) differences in body composition and lung function between groups of patients with CF designated by type of mutation; (3) the relationship between lung function and body composition in CF patients