Anogenital Distance in Male Children with Normal External Genitelia and Those with Undescended Testis: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Background: Anogenital distance (AGD) is a hormone dependent anatomical landmark that serves as a measure of perineal growth. Previous studies have shown that it is shorter in children with undescended testis (UDT) when compared with those with normal external genitalia (NEG). In sub-Saharan Africa, however, there is paucity of information regarding the relationship between AGD and UDT, hence the need for this study. Objective: To determine whether AGD parameters are shorter in children with UDT when compared to those with normal external genitalia. Method: Three AGD parameters were measured using a digital caliper in 86 children (43 with UDT and 43 with normal external genitalia). These parameters include anoscrotal distance (ASD), anopenal distance 1 (APD1) and anopenal distance 2 (APD2). Data was collected over a 12-month period and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) version 25 software. Results: Forty-three (43) boys with UDT were matched against the same number of boys with normal external genitalia in our study. There were no statistically significant differences among the two groups in the mean age, height, weight, body-mass index (BMI), gestational age and birth weight. The mean anoscrotal distance (ASD) and ASD index were 39.05±8.14 mm and 2.23±1.17mm/kg for the test group and 44.92±7.81mm and 2.79±1.07mm/kg for the control group respectively. The differences in the mean ASD and the mean ASD index between the test and the control groups were statistically significant with p < 0.05. The mean anopenile distance 1 (APD1) and anopenile distance 2 (APD2) were 77.33±13.09mm and 96.20±8.49mm for the test group and 80.63±10.15 mm and 97.48±12.86mm for the control group respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in the APD1 and APD2 between the 2 groups. Conclusion: The study showed that boys with UDT had consistently shorter AGD parameters than those with well descended testis.