Comparative analysis of physical development indicators of adolescent boys in the 20th and 21st centuries (secular trend) on the model of the Republic of Dagestan

Abstract

The study of the physical development of adolescent population in the Republic of Dagestan is insufficient and attracts the attention of endocrinologists. A detailed examination of the features of physical development in this region could help to clarify the general patterns of acceleration or deceleration taking place in this territory of the Russian Federation. Objective. To conduct a comparative analysis of physical development indicators of adolescent boys during puberty in 1970-1990 with similar indicators of 2005-2010. Methods. The physical development of adolescents aged 11-17 years was examined in the mountain, foothill, and plain ecological and geographical zones of the Republic of Dagestan. Results. The physical development of boys aged 11-14 years in all ecological and geographical zones of the Republic of Dagestan in both groups was comparable (p > 0.05). Adolescents in the older age group of 15-16 years (group 1) outperformed their peers (group 2) by an average of 0.6-2.1%. From the age of 16, there was a “crossing” of the centile curves of physical development, and adolescents aged 16–17 years (group 2) already outperformed their peers (group 1) in all ecological and geographical zones of the Republic of Dagestan. This was most evident when comparing the physical development of the boys living in the foothill zone, where this difference was significant at 4.0-7.5% (p < 0.04) when comparing the two age groups (group 1 and 2). Final height by the end of puberty in adolescents in group 1 was in the range of 152.0 ± 2.7 cm and 163.0 ± 1.3 cm and in group 2 – 156.3 ± 0.7 cm and 167.7 ± 0.9 cm. Conclusion. The analysis and general secular trend of physical development indicators of adolescents at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries on the model of the Republic of Dagestan showed that anthropometric parameters of adolescents in the Russian Federation demonstrate the presence of specific regional features – environmental, socio-economic, and anthropogenic. Key words: anthropometric data, Republic of Dagestan, retrospective indicators of adolescents, secular trend, comparative analysis, physical development