Relationship between Dietary Patterns with Closure Growth Plate in 12-13 Years Old Girls in Kermanshah

Background & ObjectiveBone linear growth during puberty depends on several factors, including nutrition. In addition, malnutrition in children and adolescents can affect both linear growth and growth plate chondrocytes. This study was conducted to determine the association between dietary patterns, bone age status, and closure growth plate in adolescent girls. Methods and MaterialsIn this study, a validated semi-quantitative 167-items food frequency questionnaire was used to determine major dietary patterns. Major dietary patterns were also identified by the component analysis method. Furthermore, anthropometric data and information about physical activity were collected from participants. ResultsIn the present study, 70.3% of participants had bone age less than chronological age, and the findings related to 3 main dietary patterns were identified (healthy diet, high salt and sugar diet, and western/mixed diets). Among the 3 main dietary patterns, a healthy dietary pattern showed a significant correlation with the difference between chronological age and bone age (B=-0.106). This research reveals that adherence to a healthy diet was associated with an increase in bone age (P=0.02). ConclusionThe current study showed a significant association between healthy dietary patterns and the bone age of participants. Based on the results, it can be claimed that a lack of components in dietary patterns can have a negative effect on chondrocytes of growth plates. The present findings confirm that children and adolescents who followed suitable dietary patterns were less likely to be stunted.