Anat Cell Biol.  2018 Mar;51(1):31-40. 10.5115/acb.2018.51.1.31.

Nutrition and growth: assessing the impact of regional nutritional intake on childhood development and metacarpal parameters

• Moro C
• Covino J

• KMID: 2418393
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5115/acb.2018.51.1.31

Abstract

Measuring skeletal development throughout juvenile growth can provide a greater understanding into the health, hormonal function and genetics of children. The metacarpals have been of interest for their potential to provide insights into healthy juvenile skeletal development. This study investigated the growth patterns of developing females from isolated communities who had varied diets. Anthropometrical measurements and hand-wrist X-rays were taken of 353 juvenile females from three populations: Pari Coastal Village and Bundi Highlands Village, Papua New Guinea (PNG); and Brisbane, Australia between 1968 to 1983. Radiographs were digitized, and the length and width of the second and third metacarpals compared to each subject's height and weight. As subject heights increased, metacarpal length and width increased. However, stature and second metacarpal length indicated the strongest correlation (P < 0.01), compared to third metacarpal length (P < 0.01) or width. From 11 to 13 years of age, Brisbane subjects were significantly heavier and taller in comparison to subjects from PNG, and coastal females were heavier and taller than the highland females. A prominent difference between the two PNG populations was the regional intake of protein in their diets. The second metacarpal presents particularly accurate measurements when determining the height or development of a child. Nutritional intake appears to have a major influence normal childhood growth, with a potential for protein deficiency to strongly inhibit growth. Any delayed growth is particularly evident in the child's stature, as well as in the development of the metacarpal long bones of the hand.

Keyword

Metacarpal dimensions; Skeletal growth; Juvenile development; Radiographs; Reference values; Radiogrammetry

MeSH Terms

Australia
Child
Diet
Female
Genetics
Hand
Humans
Metacarpal Bones
Papua New Guinea
Protein Deficiency
Reference Values

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 (A) Map of Papua New Guinea, depicting the regions where Bundi Highland Village and Pari Coastal Village are located (Map data ©2018 Google). (B) Example of an X-ray of a Brisbane female, analysed in ImageJ. The line on the second metacarpal depicts the location used to measure length.

• 

  Fig. 2 Scatterplots depicting the associations between stature and metacarpal (MTC) parameters of 7- to 17-year-old females (n=353). (A) Stature (cm) and 2-MTC length (cm). (B) Stature (cm) and 2-MTC width (cm). (C) Stature (cm) and 3-MTC length (cm). (D) Stature (cm) and 3-MTC width (cm).

• 

  Fig. 3 Differences in mean weight (kg) between subjects from Pari, Brisbane, and Bundi. (A) The 11-year-old females. (B) The 12-year-old females. (C) The 13-year-old females. (D) The 14-year-old females. ***P<0.001.

• 

  Fig. 4 Differences in mean height (cm) between subjects from Pari, Brisbane, and Bundi. (A) The 11-year-old females. (B) The 12-year-old females. (C) The 13-year-old females. (D) The 14-year-old females. **P<0.01, ***P<0.001.

• 

  Fig. 5 Differences in metacarpal (MTC) length and width between 13-year-old Pari, Brisbane, and Bundi females (n=61). (A) 2-MTC mean length and 3-MTC mean length. (B) 2-MTC mean width and 3-MTC mean width. *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001.

• 

  Fig. 6 Differences in metacarpal (MTC) length and width between 14-year-old Pari, Brisbane, and Bundi females (n=150). (A) 2-MTC mean length and 3-MTC mean length. (B) 2-MTC mean width and 3-MTC mean width. **P<0.01, ***P<0.001.

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