Validity of self-assessment of sexual maturation in adolescent male patients with cystic fibrosis.
PURPOSE: Self-assessment of sexual maturity by healthy male adolescents has been found to correlate closely with physician ratings. Data are lacking, however, in adolescents with cystic fibrosis ( CF), where an altered body image may affect self-assessment. Delayed sexual maturation occurs in many patients with CF, particularly those with severe disease. We hypothesized that self-assessment of sexual maturation by adolescents with CF would agree with physician ratings. METHODS: Using Tanner's standard photographs for pubic hair (PH) and genital (G) development, we compared self-assessment of sexual maturation to physician rating in 34 adolescent male patients with CF and 27 healthy male controls (C). RESULTS: The two groups did not differ in age. All subjects were initially examined and Tanner-staged by a physician ( SRB), and instructed in self-assessment using the Tanner photographs; they then performed a self-assessment. Scores by physician and subjects were assessed for inter-observer agreement by Kappa analysis. For the CF group, 29 of 34 PH assessments and 21 of 34 G assessments demonstrated exact inter-observer agreement between physician and subject ratings. The Kappa coefficient, kappa, (weighted for the degree of closeness between two observers) was 0.946 for PH and 0.840 for G and the C group, kappa was 0.905 for PH and 0.737 for G. Repeat analysis combining stages 3 and 4 PH and G development yielded higher inter-observer agreement in the CF group (33 of 34 PH assessments and 26 of 34 G assessments) and in the C group (24 of 27 PH assessments and 18 of 27 G assessments). CONCLUSIONS: Self-assessment is a valid method to assess sexual maturity in clinical evaluation and as a research tool in the study of patients with CF.[1]References
- Validity of self-assessment of sexual maturation in adolescent male patients with cystic fibrosis. Boas, S.R., Falsetti, D., Murphy, T.D., Orenstein, D.M. The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. (1995) [Pubmed]
Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenesOpen Access LicencePrivacy PolicyTerms of Useapsburg
