Characteristics of radius,ulna,metacarpal and phalangeal bone age and carpal bone age in children with short stature and comparison of two scoring methods
HUANG Hua-chi
HUANG Wei-bao
CHE Jin-lian
LIN Jian-jun
WANG Ying-fei
LIANG Zhi-ling
Abstract：Objective To investigate bone age characteristics in children with short stature and to compare the assessment results of two bone age scoring methods,providing reference for clinical diagnosis and management.Methods Clinical data and left-hand X-ray images of children aged 3-12 years with short stature were retrospectively collect-ed.Children were stratified by chronological age(1-year intervals)and sex.Bone age was assessed using two methods:TW-C R series(radius,ulna,metacarpal and phalangeal bones)and TW-C C series(carpal bones).Statistical com-parisons were performed among chronological age,TW-C R bone age,and TW-C C bone age,and pairwise compari-sons were conducted.Results A total of 1,183 children were included(739 boys,444 girls).For boys aged 3-7 and 9-12 years and girls aged 3-8 and 10 years,chronological age,TW-C R bone age,and TW-C C bone age were not equal,with significant differences(P＜0.05).Pairwise comparisons showed that chronological age exceeded TW-C R bone age in boys aged 3,9-12 and girls aged 6-8,10 years(P＜0.05),with the largest difference at 12 years for boys(1.02 years)and 10 years for girls(0.78 years).Chronological age also exceeded TW-C C bone age in boys aged 4-7,9-12 and girls aged 3-8,10 years(P＜0.05),with the largest difference at 12 years for boys(1.34 years)and 10 years for girls(0.78 years).TW-C R and TW-C C bone ages differed significantly in boys aged 3,5-6 and girls aged 3-5 years(P＜0.05),but showed no significant difference in older age groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion Most chil-dren with short stature have bone ages below their chronological age,with greater delays in older children,especially evi-dent in TW-C C series.Individualized management of short stature should prioritize monitoring TW-C C series bone age.
Keywords：dwarfismchildrenbone agebone age scoring method
Publication Date：2026-01-15
Online Publishing Date：2026-03-04(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 34-38 )