Alkaline phosphatase as a biochemical maturity index in female adolescence

The relationship between alkaline phosphatase activity and conventional bone maturity factors (chronologic age, half-yearly and yearly height increases), Risser sign, menarche, and the number of months elapsed after menarche) was analyzed in 276 female patients with scoliosis, ages 9 to 17 years. Alkaline phosphatase showed a very high correlation with these maturity factors. Incorporation of the alkaline phosphatase evaluation in the idex for assessing the bone maturity or residual physical growth in adolescent females may enable physicians to make a more accurate clinical assessment. [Classifying (normal: 10 unit (U) by Kind-King method): Group 1 (> 25 U) and Group 2 (25 U > or = > 20 U) as the growth period, Groups 3 and 4 (20 U > or = > 10 U) as the growth transition period, and Group 5 (10 U > or =) as the growth completion period]