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A new Swedish reference for total and prepubertal height
Author(s) -
AlbertssonWikland Kerstin,
Niklasson Aimon,
Holmgren Anton,
Gelander Lars,
Nierop Andreas F. M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.15129
Subject(s) - medicine , reference values , demography , body height , standard deviation , reference range , cohort , pediatrics , statistics , mathematics , body weight , sociology
Aim We aimed to develop up‐to‐date references with standard deviation scores (SDS) for prepubertal and total height. Methods Longitudinal length/height measures from 1572 healthy children (51.5% boys) born at term in 1989‐1991 to non‐smoking mothers and Nordic parents were obtained from the GrowUp 1990 Gothenburg cohort. A total height SDS reference from birth to adult height was constructed from Quadratic‐Exponential‐Pubertal‐Stop (QEPS) function estimated heights based on individual growth curves. A prepubertal height SDS reference, showing growth trajectory in the absence of puberty, was constructed using the QE functions. Results The total height reference showed taller prepubertal mean heights (for boys 1‐2 cm; for girls 0.5‐1.0 cm) with a narrower normal within ± 2SDS range vs the GrowUp 1974 Gothenburg reference. Adult height was increased by + 0.9 cm for women (168.6 cm) and by + 1.6 cm for men (182.0 cm). Height in children growing at −2SDS (the cut‐off used for referrals) differed up to 2 cm vs the GrowUp 1974 Gothenburg reference, 3 cm vs Swedish 1981 references and World Health Organisation (WHO) 0‐5 years standard, and 6‐8 cm vs the WHO 5‐19 years reference. Conclusion Up‐to‐date total and prepubertal height references offer promise of improved growth monitoring compared with the references used in Sweden today.