Measures of puberty in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) offspring cohort

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

Abstract

Background: When studying the development of children through the preteen years into adolescence, it is often important to link features of their physical and mental health to the stage of puberty at the time. This is complex since individuals vary substantially in the ages at which they reach different pubertal milestones.

Methods: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is an ongoing longitudinal cohort study based in southwest England that recruited over 14000 women in pregnancy, with expected dates of delivery between April 1991 and December 1992. From 1999, information on puberty was collected using a number of different methods : (a) A series of annual questionnaires were administered when the index children were aged between eight and 17 years; these were mainly concerned with the physical changes associated with puberty; (b) identification of the age at peak height growth using the SITAR methodology; and (c) retrospective information from the girls on their age at onset of menstruation (menarche).

Results: The advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed.
Conclusions: The data are available for analysis by interested researchers.
Original languageEnglish
JournalWellcome Open Research
Volume8
Issue number453
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 21 Feb 2024

Research Groups and Themes

  • ALSPAC

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Measures of puberty in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) offspring cohort'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this