Resumen

MARCHANT F, Cristian et al. Self evaluation is not reliable for assessing puberal development in school-aged children. Rev. chil. pediatr. [online]. 2012, vol.83, n.4, pp. 345-351. ISSN 0370-4106.  doi: 10.4067/S0370-41062012000400004.

Introduction: Puberal development assessment (PDA) is performed according Tanner's method (TM). Objective: In order establish the coincidence between PDA determined by physicians and the self-evaluation by school-aged children. Material and Methods: 2 980 school children from Santiago, Chile, were assessed by means of TM, the development of the mammary gland (MD), male genitalia (MG) and pubic hair (PH) were assessed. PDA was simultaneously performed by physicians and by the school children. Results: Concordance between physicians and self assessment showed a kappa coefficient (KC) of 0.55, 0.45, and 0.51 in PH, MD and MG respectively, (acceptable KC > 0.61). Self-evaluation of PDA decreased as the age of children increased, with OR of 0.76 (95% IC 0.74 -0.79); 0.87 (95% IC 0.83 - 0.91) and 0.92 (95% IC 0.88 - 0.96) for PH, MD and MG respectively. An inverse relationship between nutritional status (NS) and PDA was observed only in PH, obese school children underscored their PH (OR 0.6; 95% IC 0.5 - 0.7). Multivariate analysis for gender and NS showed that only females overestimate their PH, OR of 1.15 (95% IC 1-1.32). Conclusions: PDA through self-assessment yields only moderate correlation coefficients, thus it is not reliable for making relevant clinical decisions.

Palabras clave : Self assessment; mammary development; genitalia; pubic hair.