Tsehay Binalfew, Afework Mekbeb, Mesifin Metasebia
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia.
Department of Anatomy, Addiss Ababa University, Addiss Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ethiop J Health Sci. 2017 Nov;27(6):631-640. doi: 10.4314/ejhs.v27i6.8.
Greulich and Pyle standards are the most widely used age estimation standards all over the world. The applicability of the Greulich and Pyle standards to populations which differ from their reference population is often questioned. This study aimed to assess the reliability of Greulich and Pyle (GP) method for determination of age of children at Debre Markos Referral Hospital, East Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia.
Hospital based cross sectional study design was applied to children who came to Debre Markos Referral Hospital from May to October 2015 and fulfilled the inclusion criteria of the study. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 and medcalc version 15 softwares. Significance was set at α = 0.05.
A total of 108 radiographs were analyzed. Chronological age in most of the children was under estimated. The mean under-estimation was 11.8 months in the female sample and 8.7 months in the male sample. Greulich and Pyle method became inapplicable for the sample at 16 years for females and 16.5 years for males and later. Delay in skeletal maturation was observed in both sexes, but the females in the sample matured earlier than the males.
The findings of this study suggest against the applicability of GP atlas which were not directly applicable to an East Gojjam Zone population. Large scale studies should be planned and nationwide guideline, and atlas which can easily be used throughout the country should be developed.
格吕利希和派尔标准是全球使用最广泛的年龄估计标准。格吕利希和派尔标准对于与其参考人群不同的人群的适用性常常受到质疑。本研究旨在评估格吕利希和派尔（GP）方法在埃塞俄比亚东戈贾姆州德布雷马科斯转诊医院确定儿童年龄的可靠性。
采用基于医院的横断面研究设计，对2015年5月至10月到德布雷马科斯转诊医院就诊且符合研究纳入标准的儿童进行研究。使用SPSS 20版和MedCalc 15版软件进行数据分析。显著性水平设定为α = 0.05。
共分析了108张X光片。大多数儿童的实际年龄被低估。女性样本的平均低估时间为11.8个月，男性样本为8.7个月。格吕利希和派尔方法在女性16岁、男性16.5岁及以后的样本中不再适用。在两性中均观察到骨骼成熟延迟，但样本中的女性比男性成熟得更早。
本研究结果表明，GP图谱不适用于东戈贾姆州人群。应规划大规模研究，并制定全国性指南以及易于在全国使用的图谱。
