PEDIATRICS Vol. 52 No. 3 September 1973, pp. 388-394
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Daniel, W. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Daniel, W. A., Jr.

HEMATOCRIT: MATURITY RELATIONSHIP IN ADOLESCENCE

W. A. Daniel Jr. M.D.1

1 Adolescent Unit, University of Alabama in Birmingham

The time of onset of adolescence, the velocity of change, and the age at which somatic maturity occurs varies with each individual. Chronologic age, per se, provides little information as to growth and development. The sequential changes in secondary sex characteristics can be divided into five stages and then one of these assigned as a "maturity rating" to any patient. Hematocrit determinations were performed on 1,007 girls and 1,000 boys, aged 11 to 20 years. All patients were from low-income families and each boy or girl was examined and classified according to maturity rating, sex, and color. In boys, correlation of hematocrit determinations and sex maturity ratings showed an increase in the hematocrit percentage with an increase of maturity rating. Boys have a smooth, progressive rise in hematocrit levels as they mature and this increase is apparently associated with the production of testosterone and the development of greater muscle mass. Hematocrit values increase in relation to chronologic age, only when sexual maturation is taking place, thus evaluation of anemia based only on age may be incorrect. Hematocrit determinations related to sex maturity ratings provide a logical criterion for the diagnosis of anemia and of therapeutic response in its treatment.

Submitted on November 29, 1972
Accepted on March 13, 1973