Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To determine the bone metabolic marker changes from childhood to adolescence and to provide reference values for monitoring bone development in children in Southwest China. METHODS: We surveyed 703 participants attending physical examinations from April 2019 and August 2021. Twenty-eight participants were excluded for lack of laboratory tests, and 14 people were excluded for diseases that might affect bone metabolism. A total of 661 children were selected for the study. According to the main developmental periods, the children were divided into preschool, preadolescence, and adolescence groups. Serum bone turnover markers including β-isomerized C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (β-CTx), N-terminal midfragment of osteocalcin (N-MID), and procollagen type 1 N-propeptide (P1NP) as well as growth and development indices such as serum calcium (Ca), phosphorus (Pi), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and vitamin D were measured. The changes in bone metabolism-related markers and the correlations between the indices were analyzed. RESULTS: During the development in boys, the levels of β-CTx and N-MID increased with age from preschool to adolescence, while the levels of P1NP decreased and then increased. In girls, the levels of β-CTx and N-MID plateaued in early adolescence and showed little change in subsequent adolescence, while the levels of P1NP exhibited a downward trend. The correlations between bone metabolism markers and vitamin D were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The levels of bone metabolism markers differed between boys and girls. Reference intervals can be used as essential tools to examine the levels of bone metabolism markers reasonably.