Puberty and Pubertal Growth in Healthy Turkish Girls: No evidence for secular trend

Background: Assessment of pubertal stages should be related to updated and reliable referance data from the same background population

Birth Weight in Turkish Infants

To establish population differences in birth weight and the effect of some maternal, socioeconomic and other factors, 628 mother-infant pairs in four different regions in Turkey were investigated. Mean birth weight in the total group of infants was 3252 ± 504 g. Incidence of LBW was 7%. Mean gestational age by Dubowitz scoring was 38.9 ± 1.1 weeks. Incidence of preterm birth was 17.7%. Mean maternal postpartum body weight and stature were 58.8 ± 8.7 kg and 156.0 ±5.8 cm. The frequency of underweight mothers by postpartum weight was 7.7%. This frequency was 16.1% when ponderal index was used in the assessment. Six percent (5.9%) of the mothers were of low stature. Low socioeconomic level, maternal illiteracy, adolescent pregnancy, excessive multiparity and maternal mulnutrition stood out as important factors influencing birth weight. Differences in socioeconomic level, literacy rate, frequency of adolescent pregnancies and maternal nutritional state existed between the four regions. It was concluded that the observed interregional variations in birth weight were largely due to these environmental effects. The results of the study also indicate that postpartum body weight can be used as an index in the assessment of maternal nutritional state

A Critical Appraisal of Growth Hormone Therapy in Growth Hormone Deficiency and Turner Syndrome Patients in Turkey

Early detection of abnormal growth, identification of the underlying cause, and appropriate treatment of the medical condition is an important issue for children with short stature. Growth hormone (GH) therapy is widely used in GH-deficient children and also in non-GH-deficient short stature cases who have findings conforming to certain indications. Efficacy of GH therapy has been shown in a multitude of short- and long-term studies. Age at onset of GH therapy is the most important factor for a successful treatment outcome. Optimal dosing is also essential. The aim of this review was to focus on challenges in the early diagnosis and appropriate management of short stature due to GH deficiency (GHD) and Turner syndrome. These are the most frequent two indications for GH therapy in Turkey approved by the Ministry of Health for coverage by the national insurance system

Anthropometric Studies on the Turkish Population - A Historical Review

A historical review of anthropometric studies conducted on Turkish children and adults is presented. In view of observed differences in growth status between children of different societies, the need for local reference standards and the methodology to be used for such studies have been stressed. The importance of local studies in reflecting the state of health and nutrition both in children and adults has also been mentioned. While a number of studies in children cited in this paper are designed to compare the growth of children from different socioeconomic levels, other studies aim to establish local reference data for Turkish children. While the historical studies in adults aim to define racial characteristics, the more recent studies aim to bring out nutritional characteristics with emphasis on increasing frequency of obesity