Skeletal Maturation of Southern Chinese Children1,2

Studied were 8,024 Southern Chinese children, 4,047 boys and 3,977 girls, age 6 to 19 years. Skeletal maturation was assessed according to the Greulich-Pyle standards (8). Compared with the standards, our children were retarded in skeletal maturation in the early ages but more advanced in the later ages. The children were stratified into three socioeconomic groups (high, middle, low). Socioeconomic differentials in skeletal maturation were presented; they were subjected to t tests for significance. A clear effect of socioeconomic conditions was shown. Correlations of height and weight with skeletal maturation were illustrated by various methods.