Pubertal Development in The Netherlands 1965–1997

We investigated pubertal development of 4019 boys and 3562 girls >8 y of age participating in a cross-sectional survey in The Netherlands and compared the results with those of two previous surveys. Reference curves for all pubertal stages were constructed. The 50th percentile of Tanner breast stage 2 was 10.7 y, and 50% of the boys had reached a testicular volume of 4 mL at 11.5 y of age. Median age at menarche was 13.15 y. The median age at which the various stages of pubertal development were observed has stabilized since 1980. The increase of the age at stage G2 between 1965 and 1997 is probably owing to different interpretations of its definition. The current age limits for the definition of precocious are close to the third percentile of these references. A high agreement was found between the pubic hair stages and stages of pubertal (genital and breast) development, but slightly more in boys than in girls. Menarcheal age was dependent on height, weight, and body mass index. At a given age tall or heavy girls have a higher probability of having menarche compared with short or thin girls. A body weight exceeding 60 kg (+1 SDS), or a body mass index of >20 (+1 SDS), has no or little effect on the chance of having menarche, whereas for height such a ceiling effect was not observed. In conclusion, in The Netherlands the age at onset of puberty or menarche has stabilized since 1980. Height, weight, and body mass index have a strong influence on the chance of menarche.

[1]  W. A. Marshall The relationship of puberty to other maturity indicators and body composition in man. , 1978, Journal of reproduction and fertility.

[2]  G. Huster,et al.  Pubertal staging in boys. , 1995, The Journal of pediatrics.

[3]  J. Wit,et al.  Influence of Growth Hormone Treatment on Pubertal Timing and Pubertal Growth in Children with Idiopathic Short Stature , 1999, Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM.

[4]  C. Susanne,et al.  Secular Growth Changes in Europe , 1998 .

[5]  Stef van Buuren,et al.  Continuing Positive Secular Growth Change in the Netherlands 1955–1997 , 2000, Pediatric Research.

[6]  J M Wit,et al.  Body index measurements in 1996–7 compared with 1980 , 2000, Archives of disease in childhood.

[7]  K. Markou,et al.  Growth and pubertal development in elite female rhythmic gymnasts. , 1999, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[8]  James M. Tanner,et al.  Variations in pattern of pubertal changes in girls. , 1969 .

[9]  J M Tanner,et al.  Variations in the Pattern of Pubertal Changes in Boys , 1970, Archives of disease in childhood.

[10]  R. Largo,et al.  Pubertal development in Swiss boys. , 1983, Helvetica paediatrica acta.

[11]  K. Liestøl,et al.  Height, weight and menarcheal age of schoolgirls in Oslo--an update. , 1995, Annals of human biology.

[12]  W. Mazur 11 Phytoestrogen content in foods , 1998 .

[13]  J. H. D. Haas,et al.  Groeidiagrammen van 1-25 jarigen in Nederland , 1960 .

[14]  G. Koch,et al.  Secondary sexual characteristics and menses in young girls seen in office practice: a study from the Pediatric Research in Office Settings network. , 1997, Pediatrics.

[15]  G. Lindgren Pubertal stages 1980 of Stockholm schoolchildren , 1996, Acta paediatrica.

[16]  Douglas G. Altman,et al.  Practical statistics for medical research , 1990 .

[17]  C. Susanne,et al.  Patterns of secular change of growth and development , 1998 .

[18]  T J Cole,et al.  Smoothing reference centile curves: the LMS method and penalized likelihood. , 1992, Statistics in medicine.

[19]  J. Taranger,et al.  Somatic Pubertal Development , 1976 .

[20]  P. Kaplowitz,et al.  Reexamination of the Age Limit for Defining When Puberty Is Precocious in Girls in the United States: Implications for Evaluation and Treatment , 1999, Pediatrics.

[21]  W. Mazur Phytoestrogen content in foods. , 1998, Bailliere's clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[22]  R. Revelle,et al.  Height and Weight at Menarche and a Hypothesis of Critical Body Weights and Adolescent Events , 1970, Science.

[23]  R. Frisch,et al.  Evidence for a secular trend in age of menarche. , 1982, The New England journal of medicine.

[24]  C Ankarberg,et al.  Diurnal rhythm of testosterone secretion before and throughout puberty in healthy girls: correlation with 17beta-estradiol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. , 1999, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[25]  J. Flier,et al.  Clinical review 94: What's in a name? In search of leptin's physiologic role. , 1998, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[26]  R. Frisch Body fat, menarche, fitness and fertility. , 1987, Human reproduction.

[27]  J. Kratzsch,et al.  A Role for Leptin in Sexual Maturation and Puberty? , 1999, Hormone Research in Paediatrics.

[28]  K. Klein,et al.  Isoflavones, soy-based infant formulas, and relevance to endocrine function. , 2009, Nutrition reviews.

[29]  R. Hauspie,et al.  Secular changes in growth and maturation: an update , 1997, Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992). Supplement.

[30]  A. Prader,et al.  Testicular volume during adolescence. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. , 1974, Helvetica paediatrica acta.