Objective: To investigate the puberty timing in healthy adolescent boys in Daqing city in northern China.
Methods: A cross-sectional and longitudinal combined survey was performed. On 150 male students aged 6-15. Follow up was conducted for 4 years. The serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), Follicular Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and total testosterone (TT) were measured. The puberty timing and anthropometry including the body height, weight, and genital development according to Tanner's stages were all recorded.
Results: The mean age of puberty onset in healthy adolescent boys is (12.0+/-1.6) years. The growth velocity in the first year after puberty onset is (6.9+/-0.4) cm/year. The level of plasma TT at the time of puberty onset is (1.0+/-0.3) nmol/L.
Conclusion: The puberty timing of boys in the Daqing city, northern China is in the range from 8 to 14 years.