A follow-up study of the effects of early malnutrition on subsequent development. I. Physical growth and sexual maturation during adolescence.

A follow-up study of growth and development was conducted on 216 Barbadian children aged 9 to 15 yr, half of whom had histories of moderate to severe protein-energy malnutrition in their 1st yr of life. Although index girls had significant delays in sexual maturation and were reduced relative to comparison girls on measures of weight for height, arm circumference, and skinfold thickness, their rate of growth when compared with values obtained 4 yr earlier was equal to or better than that of the comparison group. In contrast, boys in the index group were slightly reduced in height compared with their matched comparisons and had similar patterns of growth and sexual maturation. This study suggests a relationship between an episode of infantile malnutrition and impaired endocrine functioning among girls in the adolescent years.