Gene-environment interaction in skeletal maturity and body dimensions of urban Oaxaca Mestizo schoolchildren

Evaluation of height prediction models: from traditional methods to artificial intelligence

BACKGROUND

Traditional methods for predicting adult height (AHP) rely on manual readings of bone age (BA). However, the incorporation of artificial intelligence has recently improved the accuracy of BA readings and their incorporation into AHP models.

METHODS

This study aimed to identify the AHP model that fits the current average height for adults in Mexico. Using a cross-sectional design, the study included 1173 participants (5-18 yr). BA readings were done by two experts (manually) and with an automated method (BoneXpert®). AHP was carried out using both traditional and automated methods. The best AHP model was the one that was closest to the population mean.

RESULTS

All models overestimated the population mean (males: 0.7-6.7 cm, females: 0.9-3.7 cm). The AHP models with the smallest difference were BoneXpert for males and Bayley & Pinneau for females. However, the manual readings of BA showed significant interobserver variability (up to 43% of predictions between observers exceeded 5 cm using the Bayley & Pinneau method).

CONCLUSION

Traditional AHP models relying on manual BA readings have high interobserver variability. Therefore, BoneXpert is the most reliable option, reducing such variability and providing AHP models that remain close to the mean population height.

IMPACT

Traditional models for predicting adult height often result in overestimated height predictions. The manual reading of bone age is prone to interobserver variability, which can introduce significant biases in the prediction of adult height. The BoneXpert method minimizes the variability associated with traditional methods and demonstrates consistent results in relation to the average height of the population. This study is the first to assess adult height prediction models specifically in the current generations of Mexican children.

Construction of artificial intelligence system of carpal bone age for Chinese children based on China-05 standard

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to construct an automatic carpal bone age evaluation system for Chinese children based on TW3-C Carpal method by deep learning, and to evaluate the accuracies in test set and clinical test set.

METHODS

A total of 8184 radiographs of Chinese Han healthy children (2 ∼ 14 years old) were collected from the 2005 China Skeletal Development Survey data and from the accumulated radiographs in bone age researches over the years. Three experienced radiologists and the China-05 standard maker jointly evaluated each bone development stage, and the consensual stage was decided as the reference standard. According to each epiphysis development stage, 10 % of them were derived by stratified random sampling as test sets, and the remaining radiographs were used as training sets and validation sets. Furthermore, the overall performance of the model was estimated by comparing mean difference, 95 % limits of agreement, mean absolute difference (MAD) and root mean square (RMS) between model predictions and the reference standard.

RESULTS

The percentage agreement of ratings in each epiphysis in the test set ranged from 82.82 % to 90.06 %, with an average of 86.94 %. Compared with the reference standard, the automated bone age system has a mean difference of 0.01 years old, ± 0.45 years old in 95% confidence interval by single reading, a 85.93 % percentage agreement of ratings, a 90.5 % bone age accuracy rate, 0.20 years old of MAD, 0.32 years old of RMS in the clinical test set.

CONCLUSIONS

The automatic bone age system for Chinese children has a comparable accuracy and stable determination compared with experienced radiologists. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Skeletal Maturation in the Current Pediatric Mexican Population

OBJECTIVE

The most commonly used methods for bone age (BA) reading were described in the Caucasian population decades ago. However, there are secular trends in skeletal maturation and different BA patterns between ethnic groups. Automated BA reading makes updating references easier and more precise than human reading. The objective of the present study was to present automated BA reference curves according to chronological age and gender in the Mexican population and compare the maturation tempo with that of other populations.

METHODS

The study included 923 healthy participants aged 5 to 18 years between 2017 and 2018. A hand radio-graph was analyzed using BoneXpert software to obtain the automated BA reading according to Greulich and Pyle (G&P) and Tanner-Whitehouse 2 (TW2) references. We constructed reference curves using the average difference between the BA and chronological age according to sex and age.

RESULTS

The G&P and TW2 automated reference curves showed that Mexican boys exhibit delays in BA during middle childhood by 0.5 to 0.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.9 to -0.2) years; however, they demonstrate an advanced BA of up to 1.1 (95% CI, 0.8 to 1.4) years at the end of puberty. Mexican girls exhibited a delay in BA by 0.3 to 0.6 (95% CI, -0.9 to -0.1) years before puberty and an advanced BA of up to 0.9 (95% CI, 0.7 to 1.2) years at the end of puberty.

CONCLUSION

Mexican children aged <10 years exhibited a delay in skeletal maturity, followed by an advanced BA by approximately 1 year at the end of puberty. This may affect the estimation of growth potential in this population.

Equação preditora de idade óssea na iniciação esportiva através de variáveis antropométricas

INTRODUÇÃO: Atualmente o desempenho esportivo tem se desenvolvido de forma rápida e concreta, exigindo, dessa forma, uma eficiente evolução das diferentes áreas das ciências do esporte, oferecendo o suporte cientifico necessário à continuidade desse fenômeno. OBJETIVO: O estudo em questão teve como objetivo desenvolver uma equação matemática preditora de idade óssea de jovens atletas, com base em variáveis antropométricas. MÉTODOS: Para se alcançar o resultado final foram medidas dobras cutâneas, perímetros corporais e diâmetros ósseos, idade cronológica e idade óssea. O tratamento estatístico utilizou a correlação entre as variáveis, a regressão linear múltipla com modelagem backward. RESULTADO: Se obteve como resultado final um modelo de equação que explica 75,4% da variação da idade óssea com r = 0,868 e R² = 0,754, utilizando idade cronológica, estatura, dobra tricipital, perímetro corrigido de braço e diâmetros de fêmur e úmero. CONCLUSÃO: Concluiu-se a partir dos resultados, que esse tipo de modelo revela valores aproximados aos observados através da radiografia de mão e punho, tornando-se importante na observação do estágio maturacional através de testes de fácil aplicabilidade por profissionais da área esportiva.

Genome-wide association study of anthropometric traits in Korcula Island, Croatia

AIM

To identify genetic variants underlying six anthropometric traits: body height, body weight, body mass index, brachial circumference, waist circumference, and hip circumference, using a genome-wide association study.

METHODS

The study was carried out in the isolated population of the island of Korcula, Croatia, with 898 adult examinees who participated in the larger DNA-based genetic epidemiological study in 2007. Anthropometric measurements followed standard internationally accepted procedures. Examinees were genotyped using HumanHap 370CNV chip by Illumina, with a genome-wide scan containing 316730 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP).

RESULTS

A total of 11 SNPs were associated with the investigated traits at the level of P<10(-5), with one SNP (rs7792939 in gene zinc finger protein 498, ZNF498) associated with body weight, hip circumference, and brachial circumference (P=3.59-5.73 x 10(-6)), and another one (rs157350 in gene delta-sarcoglycan, SGCD) with both brachial and hip circumference (P=3.70-6.08 x 10(-6). Variants in CRIM1, a gene regulating delivery of bone morphogenetic proteins to the cell surface, and ITGA1, involved in the regulation of mesenchymal stem cell proliferation and cartilage production, were also associated with brachial circumference (P=7.82 and 9.68 x 10(-6), respectively) and represent interesting functional candidates. Other associations involved those between genes SEZ6L2 and MAX and waist circumference, XTP6 and brachial circumference, and AMPA1/GRIA1 and height.

CONCLUSION

Although the study was underpowered for the reported associations to reach formal threshold of genome-wide significance under the assumption of independent multiple testing, the consistency of association between the 2 variants and a set of anthropometric traits makes CRIM1 and ITGA1 highly interesting for further replication and functional follow-up. Increased linkage disequilibrium between the used markers in an isolated population makes the formal significance threshold overly stringent, and changed allele frequencies in isolate population may contribute to identifying variants that would not be easily identified in large outbred populations.