N.S. Bakhareva
Kuban State Medical University, Krasnodar
E.K. Gordeeva
Kuban State Medical University, Krasnodar
V.V. Klimova
Kuban State Medical University, Krasnodar

Keywords: morphometric parameters, expected heart rate, body surface area, early childhood period.

Introduction. Somatotypological characteristics are a "selective factor" in sports selection [2]. In children aged 4-7 years of both sexes, body length is most subject to active growth processes; by the end of this age period, the first signs of gender-specific features appear [1]. When assessing the actual heart rate (AHR) in children, the focus should be not on the child's age, but on their height and weight, which directly determine the level of expected heart rate (EHR). This is especially important when studying children living in different regions.

Aim of the study: to study gender differences in morphometric parameters and expected heart rate in children of the early childhood period living in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic.

Materials and methods of the study. Data from 100 children (50 girls and 50 boys) were used, with an average age of 6.01 ± 0.45 years (Kabardians and Balkars). The study was conducted at a kindergarten in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. For each examined child, height (H, cm) and body weight (m, kg) were measured, followed by the determination of body mass index (BMI), expected heart rate (EHR, min-1) using the formula: EHR = 48 * (H/m)^1/3, where H is height, m is body weight [1]; and body surface area (S) taking into account height-weight indicators using the formula: S = (H * M)^1/2 / 165.7 [1]. The digital data were processed using variational statistics in Microsoft Excel. Differences were considered statistically significant at p ≤ 0.05.

Results of the study and their discussion. During the statistical analysis, no significant differences were found in body surface area indicators between the groups of boys (9178.9 ± 168.7 cm2) and girls (8798 ± 138.3 cm2), or in EHR values between the groups of boys (77.4 ± 0.5 min-1) and girls (78.2 ± 0.6 min-1). A significant inverse relationship was revealed between EHR and body surface area (r = -0.90). A deviation of actual heart rate from expected heart rate by 30% or more was found in 29 boys and 23 girls.

Conclusions. The absence of gender differences in expected heart rate and body surface area indicators was established in children of the early childhood period in the North Caucasian region of Russia (Kabardino-Balkarian Republic). It was also revealed that in more than half of the examined children, the actual heart rate deviates from the expected heart rate by 30% or more.

References

1. Baibakov S.E., Bakhareva N.S., Sheikh-Zade Yu.R., Chuprunova N.S. Morfometricheskoe opredelenie gendernykh razlichiy v teloslozhenii cheloveka [Morphometric determination of gender differences in human physique]. 2014. Vol. 145. No. 2. P. 63-66.
2. Nikolenko V.N., Nikityuk D.B., Klochkova S.I. Somaticheskaya konstitutsiya i klinicheskaya meditsina [Somatic constitution and clinical medicine]. Moscow: Prakticheskaya meditsina, 2017. 256 p.