Growth and Bone Age of Juvenile Diabetics

The growth of a group of juvenile diabetics on restricted carbohydrate diets has been studied using standardized techniques. Most patients were distributed between the 10th and 90th centiles for height, weight, bone age, and subscapular skinfold thickness. There was, however, a statistically significant tendency for females to be above average in weight and for both sexes to have thicker than normal skinfolds. A duration of diabetes of over 6 years led to significant underheight in boys and girls in the presence of normally distributed bone ages. Boys who had had diabetes for less than 6 years were found to have advanced bone ages.