The identification of a maturational spurt during normal skeletal development is of critical biomedical and public health importance because it will: (1) improve clinical treatment timing for children suffering from skeletal disorders, and (2) provide a more detailed understanding of human skeletal biology for the future biomedical field. Fluctuations in the tempo of skeletal maturation may provide greater prognostic value than other ontogenetic parameters. These fluctuations, including a potential maturational ?spurt,? similar to the pubertal growth spurt, have yet to be comprehensively characterized.
Aim 1 of the proposed F31 will use existing data on skeletal age collected by the Sponsor to examine tempo changes in skeletal maturation and to elucidate the relationship between ontogenetic parameters of the maturational spurt with known parameters of the pubertal growth spurt.
Aim 2 will provide refined skeletal maturity indicator grades predictive of distinct parameters of the pubertal growth spurt and the maturational spurt.
This aim will include the collection of new skeletal maturity indicator data by the applicant. Because the timing of skeletal maturity is influenced by racial and/or ethnic background, Aim 3 will focus on characterizing the tempo of maturation in children of African American, Asian American, and Hispanic descent.
These Aims will be accomplished by leveraging existing longitudinal data from two longitudinal studies of childhood and incorporating a variety of multi-level, repeated-measure modeling techniques, including polynomial modeling and ordinal logistic regression. The results from the proposed analyses will provide clinicians with improved skeletal maturity assessment tools that will lead to optimization of individualized pediatric treatment timing and improved quality of life in patients with skeletal disorders.

Public Health Relevance

The proposed research addresses a pediatric clinical problem of public health significance. This F31 identifies important relationships between specific aspects of skeletal growth and development that impact clinical treatment timing.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31)
Project #
5F31HD091939-02
Application #
9673613
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Winer, Karen
Project Start
2018-01-01
Project End
2020-12-31
Budget Start
2019-01-01
Budget End
2019-12-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2019
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Missouri-Columbia
Department
Orthopedics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
153890272
City
Columbia
State
MO
Country
United States
Zip Code
65211