Skeletal age prediction models by maturity status in male soccer players.

Flores, Luis Alberto; McLaren-Towlson, Christopher; De León, Lidia G.; Bonito, Fabiana; Mil-Homens, Pedro; Peña-González, Iván; Fragoso, Maria Isabel

Abstract

This study focus is to develop a new model to estimate skeletal age (SA) as a function of the state of biological maturation in male soccer players, and to propose cut-off points to classify the state of biological maturation based on the percentage of adult height (PAH) in male soccer players. SA was determined in 747 Portuguese male soccer players, using the Tanner-Whitehouse (TW) 3 method, and PAH was predicted by TW3 (P-TW3) and Khamis-Roche (P-KR) methods. Subsequently, the sensitivity and specificity of the P-TW3 were estimated to classify late, on-time and early maturers to obtain cut-off points, by age; and to develop specific equations for each maturation stage. Both the model using P-TW3 and the model using P-KR showed a SA predictive capacity of 93%. The average differences were similar to zero. P-TW3 cutoff points were established by ROC curve analysis to identify late and early maturers according to their SA. Following, predictive models were developed to estimate SA according to maturity status. The predictive capacity of the models was 87.3% in late maturers, 92.3% in early maturers and 93.5% in early maturers. The prediction models are a reliable and cost-effective method to estimate SA in male soccer players.

Citation

Flores, L. A., McLaren-Towlson, C., De León, L. G., Bonito, F., Mil-Homens, P., Peña-González, I., & Fragoso, M. I. (2025). Skeletal age prediction models by maturity status in male soccer players. Nature, 15, Article 18239. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00402-x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 28, 2025
• Online Publication Date: May 25, 2025
• Publication Date: May 25, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 11, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 19, 2025
• Journal: Nature
• Print ISSN: 0028-0836
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Article Number: 18239
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00402-x
• Keywords: Biological maturity; Soccer players; Skeletal age; Percentage of adult height
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/5237356