Pubertal growth spurt is not universal: Polymorphism in growth at adolescence and its possible origin

ObjectivesNumerous studies of child growth conducted in industrialised countries showed presence of the phenomenon of the adolescent growth spurt to the extent that its presence became a dogma applied to humans as a species. However, earliest observations of growth at adolescence and also observations of adolescent growth conducted in small traditional societies do not show pubertal spurts consistently. Longitudinal observations of growth of individuals in present-day societies show strong polymorphism of the age at which puberty starts and ends and the magnitude of growth acceleration during puberty. Some normally developing individuals may not experience the pubertal growth spurt. Design, Seeting, ParticipantsLongitudinal height growth data of 110 girls aged 6-18 years from homogenous socio-economic situation - one medical high school (=nursing college) in one large Polish city of Lodz. Results18 (16%) girls did not show statistically significant acceleration of body height growth while they reached the same adult height as their spurting peers. Girls who experienced growth spurt had the age at peak height velocity of 11.2 years and peak height velocity of 69.3 mm, comparable to those found in many other studies. There was a negative correlation of adult height with variation of individual accelerations (r-0.24, p=0.01) - girls whose accelerations differed less from year to year achieved greater adult heights. ConclusionsFindings of no pubertal spurts in some individuals have been made in other samples studied by other authors, though rarely reported. It can be argued that slow growth at adolescence was more favourable in conditions of limited access to nutrition and medical care while polymorphisms determining fast, uneven growth became more prevalent after industrialisation that, together with progress in health sciences, relaxed natural selection on patterns of growth. Individuals who do not experience pubertal growth spurts, but are otherwise healthy, should not be subject to clinical interventions. Summary BoxO_ST_ABSWhat is already known on this topicC_ST_ABSPubertal growth spurt in body height is considered a typical feature of postnatal development. There is a large polymorphism of the age at which the spurt occurs and of its intensity. Individuals who do not experience the spurt, but are otherwise healthy, may be subject to uncesessary clinical interventions. What this study addsAmong 110 female students of an urban secondary nursing college studied longitudinally from 6 to 16 years, 16% did not experience acceleration of growth at puberty. Similar findings were reported in the literature from some non-Westernised communities and from European 19th century populations.