Male external genitalia growth curves and charts for children and adolescents aged 0 to 17 years in Chongqing, China

Abstract

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.

Keywords

• adolescents; children; generalized additive model for location
• scale
• and shape; growth curves; penile size; testicular volume