Participants will be required to self-assess their pubertal status using the Tanner stages of puberty scale [ 23, 24].
The extent to which birth height and body mass index relate to nutritional status in determining the timing of puberty is not known.
A questionnaire will be used to record socioeconomic status, major diseases, nutritional status, type and duration of work and family history of puberty, growth and obesity of subjects.
It is possible, therefore, that the effect of the calcium supplement seen in this study was a reflection of the poor nutritional status and delayed puberty of the Gambian children and may not be evident in well-nourished populations.
For the statistical analyses of associations between phthalate concentrations and growth or endocrine measures, we excluded all children suffering from diseases prone to affect growth or endocrine status as well as all children with clinical signs of puberty.
At baseline, comparison with the Norwegian Childhood Diabetes Registry showed that our cohort was a representative sample of the young T1D population in Norway regarding gender, stage of puberty, HbA1c, blood pressure and lipid status [ 28].
These findings were not simply due to age effects, but were more closely related to an interaction effect of puberty and age, and to pubertal status alone, than to age.
Yet, several studies indicate that the dependence of maturation on the nutritional status and mobilization of fat reserves is preceding the initiation of puberty (Rowe et al. 1991; Shearer and Swanson 2000; Silverstein et al. 1997; Thorpe 1994).
In contrast, the variables puberty status (12.2% of boys vs. 49.0% of girls showed indications of puberty), TV and PC consumption, membership of a sports club and time outdoors in winter were significantly different between males and females.
