Résumé
Sexual, skeletal, and dental maturation were evaluated in 50 cystic fibrosis patients (23 females, 27 males), 7.5 to 17.4 years of age. Relative to published normative standards, all three developmental indicators were delayed in patients exhibiting mild to moderately severe pulmonary disease. Pairwise comparisons with chronologic age revealed significant (p < 0.01) dental and skeletal age deficits for both sexes. Associations among developmental ages, delays, and a measure of pulmonary disease severity were investigated by nonparametric techniques.Variability in disease severity scores did not contribute significantly to variance in sexual, skeletal, and dental maturation and their respective delays. No significant differences were observed between disease severity scores of females or males who showed advanced dental or skeletal development and those of age and sex matched patients with developmental delays. These results suggest the delays are not secondary to pulmonary complications but are components of an overall maturational delay which is hypothesized to be an endocrine-mediated pleiotropic effect of the cystic fibrosis locus.