Long-term trend of the age of spermarche and its association with nutritional status among Chinese Han boys aged 11-18 from 2010 to 2019 / 中华预防医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective: To analyze the long-term trend of the age of spermarche among Chinese Han boys aged 11 to 18 from 2010 to 2019 and its association with nutritional status. Methods: The data from Chinese National Surveys on Students' Constitution and Health in 2010, 2014 and 2019 were used. The age, residence and spermarche of the participants were collected by questionnaire, and their height and weight were measured. A total of 184 633 Han boys aged 11‒18 years with complete data on spermarche, height, and weight were included in this study. The probability regression method was used to calculate the median age (95%CI) at spermarche in different areas, and the trend of age at spermarche in different groups was compared. The multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between nutritional status and spermarche of Chinese Han boys aged 11‒18 years. Results: The median age of spermarche (95%CI) was 13.85 (13.45-14.22) years old among Chinese Han boys aged 11‒18 years in 2019, with 0.18 years earlier than that in 2010. The median age at spermarche in urban and rural boys was 13.89 and 13.81 years, respectively. Compared with that in 2010, the age at spermarche in urban and rural boys was 0.08 and 0.27 years earlier, respectively. After adjusting for age, province and urban/rural areas, compared with normal weight, spermarche was negatively associated with wasting and positively associated with overweight and obesity, with OR (95%CI) about 0.73 (0.67-0.80), 1.09 (1.02-1.17) and 1.09 (1.01-1.18), respectively. Conclusion: The age of spermarche generally shows an advanced trend among Chinese Han boys and is associated with nutritional status.