Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Bone age is the best reference to reflect adolescents’ epiphyseal maturity.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the development of long bones in the knee and ankle joints of adolescents between coastal and inland areas, and to comparatively study the tendency of their skeletal development.
METHODS: Healthy Han adolescents aged 9-19 years were randomly selected from Shandong Province, including 2 377 in coastal areas and 3 235 in inland areas. Three growth indicators, such as height, weight and chest circumstance were measured. The bones in the knee and ankle joints were radiated in anterior-posterior position to detect epiphysis-diaphysis time of the long bones.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The height, weight and chest circumstance were not significantly different in male and female adolescents between coastal and inland areas. But the values between the two areas were obviously different in the same age group. The epiphysis-diaphysis fusion time of the long bones in coastal areas was earlier than that in inland areas. Studies have shown that the growth and development of adolescents in coastal areas is more advanced than that in inland areas.