Research on the Characteristics of the Growth and Development of Children's Bones

The subjects were 4973 children aged 3-18 years from Wenzhou city.Skeletal ages were estimated by the revised standards of skeletal maturity and CHN method,respectively.The growth and development of Wenzhou children were compared with Dalian children.In last 20 years,the secular trend of accelerated skeletal development was present in Wnezhou children.The height and weight of each age group were significantly different between Wenzhou and Dalian children.Wenzhou children were small in height and weight,compared with Dalian children,especially at 35 years and adolescence.But the skeletal maturity of all age groups were approximately identical in Wenzhou and Dalian children,except that the skeletal age of Wenzhou girls under 5 years groups were delayed by 0.3-0.6 years in relation to Dalian children.The revised standards of skeletal maturity can be applicable to Wenzhou children.The differences of adult height between Wenzhou and Dalian children are mainly brought by the differences of height before 5 years and in adolescence.