Abstract
Background: Little is known about the secular trends in age at spermarche among boys, and the association between body mass index (BMI ) and male puberty is controversial.
Objective: This study aimed to estimate the trend in age at spermarche in China and explore the association of spermarche with BMI .
Methods: We used four cross‐sectional Chinese National Surveys on Students' Constitution and Health (CNSSCH ; 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010). Median age at spermarche was determined using probit analysis. Logistic regression was used to assess the association of spermarche with BMI .
Results: Age at spermarche among Chinese boys dropped from 14.57 to 14.03 years from 1995 to 2010 with a decrease of 4.3 months per decade. Boys with BMI ‐for‐age z ‐score lower than −2 had the latest age at spermarche. A higher BMI or BMI ‐for‐age z ‐score was associated with an increased likelihood of having reached spermarche, and this association was consistently observed at all survey points.
Conclusion: This study provides important evidence of a secular trend of earlier age at spermarche over the past 15 years in C hina, and this decrease was accompanied by a simultaneous increase in BMI . Strategies and interventions focusing on thinness may promote both their nutritional status and puberty development among C hinese boys.
Objective: This study aimed to estimate the trend in age at spermarche in China and explore the association of spermarche with BMI .
Methods: We used four cross‐sectional Chinese National Surveys on Students' Constitution and Health (CNSSCH ; 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010). Median age at spermarche was determined using probit analysis. Logistic regression was used to assess the association of spermarche with BMI .
Results: Age at spermarche among Chinese boys dropped from 14.57 to 14.03 years from 1995 to 2010 with a decrease of 4.3 months per decade. Boys with BMI ‐for‐age z ‐score lower than −2 had the latest age at spermarche. A higher BMI or BMI ‐for‐age z ‐score was associated with an increased likelihood of having reached spermarche, and this association was consistently observed at all survey points.
Conclusion: This study provides important evidence of a secular trend of earlier age at spermarche over the past 15 years in C hina, and this decrease was accompanied by a simultaneous increase in BMI . Strategies and interventions focusing on thinness may promote both their nutritional status and puberty development among C hinese boys.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 369-374 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Pediatric Obesity |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |