Pubertal stages 1980 of Stockholm schoolchildren

In March 1980 a cross-sectional study of the pubertal developmental of a sample of Stockholm schoolchildren was conducted. Breast development (B1-B5), pubic hair (PH1-PH5) and axillary hair (AH1-AH3) were rated in 138 girls, and genitalia development (G1-G5), pubic hair (PH1-PH5) and axillary hair (AH1-AH3) were rated in 116 boys according to the Tanner method. The girls' and the boys' ratings were done by one female and one male medically qualified expert respectively. When relating social class to age of pubertal stage no significant differences were found. Median ages for entry to successive pubertal stages as well as centiles were calculated by logistic regression. Girls were somewhat earlier in their breast and pubic hair development than Stockholm girls investigated in earlier studies; however, somewhat later in their development of axillary hair. The boys entered G2 earlier than boys studied in 1970 but entered G5 at exactly the same age, 15.1 years. Boys entered PH2 somewhat later than 1970 boys, but again reached PH5 at exactly the same age, 15.5 years. The present study is based on a more recent and somewhat larger sample of children drawn from a wider area of Stockholm than the earlier studies. It is further suggested that these values be used in the proposed new height and weight reference values for youth in Sweden.