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Bone age and linear skeletal growth of children with cerebral palsy
Insights
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often experience bone-age delay. However, their linear growth mirrors typically developing peers when bone age, not chronological age, is considered, suggesting segmental lengths are useful for height estimation in CP.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Orthopedics
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) affects motor development and can impact overall growth.
- Assessing linear growth in children with CP presents unique challenges.
- Bone age assessment is a crucial indicator of skeletal maturity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the linear growth patterns of children with cerebral palsy (CP) against a control group of children without CP.
- To evaluate the utility of segmental lengths for estimating height in children with CP.
- To investigate the prevalence and implications of bone-age delay in children with CP.
Main Methods:
- Measurement of segmental bone lengths (humerus, ulna, femur, tibia, spine), recumbent length, body weight, and bone age in 62 children with CP and 68 controls.
- Comparison of linear growth parameters between the CP group and the control group.
- Correlation analysis between segmental lengths and overall body height.
Main Results:
- A significant proportion of children with CP (68%) exhibited a bone-age delay exceeding one year.
- Linear growth in children with CP was comparable to controls when growth was assessed relative to bone age rather than chronological age.
- A strong positive correlation was observed between segmental bone lengths and total body height.
Conclusions:
- Bone-age delay is a common finding in children with CP.
- Using bone age as a reference provides a more accurate comparison of linear growth in children with CP.
- Segmental bone lengths are a reliable method for estimating height in children with CP, with the control group serving as a valuable reference.
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to compare the linear growth of children with cerebral palsy (CP) with that of children without CP. The segmental lengths (humerus, ulna, femur, tibia, and spine), recumbent length, body weight, and bone age of 62 children with CP (age range 2.25 to 14 years, mean 7.13 years) were measured and compared with 68 children without CP (age range 1.50 to 12.67 years, mean 6.73 years). The results show that bone-age delay is common in children with CP (68% with a delay of more than 1 year). The linear growth of children with CP is similar to that of children without CP when bone age is used instead of chronological age. There is a strong correlation between segmental lengths and body height. Hence, this study favours using segmental lengths for estimating height in children with CP and using the comparison group as a reference for this purpose. Nutritional and non-nutritional factors on bone-age delay are discussed.
