Department of Medical Statistics and Information Management, School of Public Health and Management, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
Department of Endocrinology, the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400014, China.
Asian J Androl. 2018 Nov-Dec;20(6):567-571. doi: 10.4103/aja.aja_51_18.
Genital size is a crucial index for the assessment of male sexual development, as abnormal penile or testicular size may be the earliest visible clinical manifestation of some diseases. However, there is a lack of data regarding penile and testicular size measurements for Chinese boys at all stages of childhood and puberty. This cross-sectional study aimed to develop appropriate growth curves and charts for male external genitalia among children and adolescents aged 0-17 years in Chongqing, China. A total of 2974 boys were enrolled in the present study. Penile length was measured using a rigid ruler, penile diameter was measured using a pachymeter, and testicular volume was determined using a Prader orchidometer. Age-specific percentile curves for penile length, penile diameter, and testicular volume were drawn using the generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape. Very similar growth curves were found for both penile length and penile diameter. Both of them gradually rose to 10 years of age and then sharply increased from 11 to 15 years of age. However, testicular volume changed little before the age of 10 years. This study contributes to the literature covering age-specific growth curve and charts about male external genitalia in Chinese children and adolescents. These age-related values are valuable in evaluating the growth and development status of male external genitalia and could be helpful in diagnosing genital disorders.
生殖器大小是评估男性性发育的重要指标，因为阴茎或睾丸大小异常可能是某些疾病最早出现的可见临床症状。然而，目前缺乏中国儿童和青少年在整个童年和青春期的阴茎和睾丸大小测量数据。本横断面研究旨在为中国重庆 0-17 岁儿童和青少年的男性外生殖器制定合适的生长曲线和图表。本研究共纳入 2974 名男孩。使用硬尺测量阴茎长度，使用测径器测量阴茎直径，使用 Prader 睾丸测量计测量睾丸体积。使用位置、比例和形状的广义加性模型绘制阴茎长度、阴茎直径和睾丸体积的特定年龄百分位曲线。阴茎长度和直径的生长曲线非常相似。它们都在 10 岁之前逐渐上升，然后从 11 岁到 15 岁急剧增加。然而，睾丸体积在 10 岁之前变化不大。本研究为中国儿童和青少年男性外生殖器的特定年龄生长曲线和图表提供了文献依据。这些年龄相关的数值对于评估男性外生殖器的生长发育状况非常有价值，并有助于诊断生殖器疾病。
