Bone
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African teenagers with slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) not infrequently also have genu valgum (knock-knee). Because we had previously demonstrated metabolic bone disease attributable to dietary calcium deficiency in black teenagers with genu valgum, we examined 29 black teenagers (15 male, 14 female) with SCFE for metabolic bone disease. Each patient had an iliac crest bone biopsy taken (after double tetracycline labeling) for routine histomorphometry, and blood and urine samples for bone biochemistry. ⋯ Parathyroid hormone correlated with Aj. AR (r = 0.661, p = 0.038) and serum phosphorus (r = -0.764, p = 0.010). We conclude that sexual immaturity and possibly past dietary calcium deficiency contributed to osteopenia, and that this, together with obesity, led to the development of more severe and more frequently bilateral SCFE in our patients than in reported series of black and white children.