All issues > Volume 52(3); 2009

Original Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2009;52(3):351-355. Published online March 15, 2009.

Comparison of predicted adult heights measured by Bayley-Pinneau and Tanner-Whitehouse 3 methods in normal children, those with precocious puberty and with constitutional growth delay

Yeon Joung YJ Oh¹, Byung Keun BK Yu¹, Jung Yeon JY Shin¹, Kee-Hyoung KH Lee¹, Kwang Chul KC Lee¹, Chang Sung CS Son¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Kee-Hyoung KH Lee ,Email: khlee218@kumc.or.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: This study compared bone ages measured by the Greulich-Pyle (GP) and Tanner-Whitehouse 3 (TW3) methods and investigated the differences in predicted adult heights measured by Bayley-Pinneau (BP) and TW3 methods.
Methods
: Bone ages were assessed from left-wrist radiographs by two investigators, one for each GP and TW3 methods in 85 normal children, 30 precocious puberty girls, and 30 constitutional growth delay boys. The differences between the measured predicted adult heights using the BP and TW3 methods were compared in each group.
Results
: The bone age measured by the TW3 method was less than that by the GP method in normal children. The predicted adult heights measured by the two methods showed no significant difference in normal boys, while the predicted adult height measured by the TW3 method was higher than that by the BP method for normal girls (156.4¡¾4.7 cm vs. 158.9¡¾3.8 cm, P<0.01) and for precocious puberty girls (156.3¡¾4.0 cm vs. 159.3¡¾4.2 cm, P<0.01). In contrast, the predicted adult height was higher from the BP method than from the TW3 method in constitutional growth delay boys (173.3¡¾4.4 cm vs. 169.7¡¾3.2 cm, P<0.01).
Conclusion
: There were significant differences in predicted adult heights between the BP and TW3 method in normal girls, precocious puberty girls, or constitutional growth delay boys. In precocious puberty and constitutional growth delay, the BP method might be preferred to predict adult height, but further studies on final adult height are needed.

Keywords :Bayley-Pinneau, Tanner-Whitehouse, Age determination by skeleton, Predicted adult height