Regional and social analysis of height variation in a contemporary British sample

The height distributions of 11-year-old boys and girls and their parents (N = 33 000) comprising the National Child Development Study are reported. The variance in height was found to differ significantly between social classes for all three family positions (father, mother and child). Analysis of variance and cluster analysis revealed that stature distributions in all three family positions is more socially rather than regionally differentiated.     

Weight/heightp compared to weight/height2 for assessing adiposity in childhood: influence of age and bone age on p during puberty

Data from three American Health Examination Surveys and 11 other published studies were used to investigate the weight-for-height index W/Hp, adjusted for age and sex by expressing it as a fraction of the same ratio for an NCHS standard child. The appropriate power of height p was determined by regressing log weight-for-age on log height-for-age, giving an index of relative weight which is highly correlated with weight but uncorrelated with height for age. The optimal value of p was 2 in pre-school children, but it increased gradually to 3 at age 11 and fell back to 2 after puberty. The largest value of p occurred 18 months earlier in girls than in boys, and the pattern was the same for white and black children. The trend was summarized by the formula: p = 2 + exp [-0.5 (age - 11)2]. The index thus provides a compact way of adjusting weight for height and age throughout childhood, using standards of weight and height for age and sex. During puberty, W/Hp was found to be related to maturity as measured by Greulich-Pyle bone age. Each year's advancement relative to chronological age was associated with an increase of up to 5% in relative weight, adjusted for height and age. This maturity effect was shown to be the cause of the rise in the value of p early in puberty, so that after adjusting for it the value of p remained close to 2 throughout childhood. Thus the index W/H2 is appropriate for preschool children and adults, but early in puberty it tends to assess tall or physically advanced children as being overweight. This bias can be avoided by using instead the more general index, where the precise power of height is a function of the child's age.     

Age trends of sibling resemblance for height, weight and BMI during growth in a mixed longitudinal sample from Sarsuna-Barisha, India

BACKGROUND: Even though some studies have considered that sibling resemblance remains constant throughout the life cycle, several investigations emphasize the importance of age and its interactions with genetic and environmental factors in determining sibling similarity in several bodily traits. In fact, the study of age changes in familial resemblance is of great importance for the analysis of certain sources of variation observed in growth processes. AIM: The study examined sibling resemblance for height, weight and body mass index (BMI) in a mixed longitudinal sample from West Bengal, ages 2-19 years, in order to analyse the variations with age of the sibling resemblance for these phenotypes during growth. SAMPLE AND METHODS: Two hundred and forty-five brothers and 213 sisters from 138 middle-class nuclear families living in a semi-urban area of South Kolkata, India were analysed. The analysis of sibling resemblance was performed through correlations estimated by the maximum-likelihood method. The patterns of different trends of sibling resemblance with age were examined by fitting a cubic non-linear regression to the observed correlations. RESULTS: The results show clear variations with age in the sibling resemblance for the traits height and weight, though to a lesser extent for BMI. In general, we found the highest correlation values during the period of infancy, a remarkable decrease during puberty, and a trend of increase towards the end of the growth cycle. CONCLUSION: The study confirms the effect of age on the degree of similarity among siblings for height, weight and BMI in the sample. The sharp decline of correlation at adolescence can be interpreted in terms of the individual variation in age of reaching the adolescent growth spurt.     

Age trends of sibling resemblance for height,weight and BMI during growth in a mixed longitudinal sample from Sarsuna-Barisha,India

Background: Even though some studies have considered that sibling resemblance remains constant throughout the life cycle, several investigations emphasize the importance of age and its interactions with genetic and environmental factors in determining sibling similarity in several bodily traits. In fact, the study of age changes in familial resemblance is of great importance for the analysis of certain sources of variation observed in growth processes. Aim: The study examined sibling resemblance for height, weight and body mass index (BMI) in a mixed longitudinal sample from West Bengal, ages 2–19 years, in order to analyse the variations with age of the sibling resemblance for these phenotypes during growth. Sample and methods: Two hundred and forty-five brothers and 213 sisters from 138 middle-class nuclear families living in a semi-urban area of South Kolkata, India were analysed. The analysis of sibling resemblance was performed through correlations estimated by the maximum-likelihood method. The patterns of different trends of sibling resemblance with age were examined by fitting a cubic non-linear regression to the observed correlations. Results: The results show clear variations with age in the sibling resemblance for the traits height and weight, though to a lesser extent for BMI. In general, we found the highest correlation values during the period of infancy, a remarkable decrease during puberty, and a trend of increase towards the end of the growth cycle. Conclusion: The study confirms the effect of age on the degree of similarity among siblings for height, weight and BMI in the sample. The sharp decline of correlation at adolescence can be interpreted in terms of the individual variation in age of reaching the adolescent growth spurt.     

Interrelationships of dental maturity, skeletal maturity, height and weight from age 4 to 14 years.

The correlations of dental mineralization stages, skeletal mineralization, body-height and weight were determined for each year between age 4 and 14 for 121 boys and 111 girls of the serial experimental group of the Burlington Growth Centre. Dental development related more strongly to morphological development than to skeletal development in both sexes, and skeletal age was more strongly related to morphological age than to dental stage. The relationship of individual teeth to skeletal age, height and weight were different but consistent in a sex-specific pattern. In males, both skeletal mineralization and dental mineralization, particularly of the first molars, were more closely related to height than to weight. In the females, skeletal and dental mineralization, especially of the second molars, were more closely related to weight from age 7 than to height. These relationships were significant in both pre-adolescent and adolescent years. In both these periods, skeletal age and body size related most strongly to late stages of tooth formation. Hence, from an early age, the stages of dental, skeletal and morphological maturation were significantly interrelated in a pattern that was specific for individual teeth and for sex.     

身高、体质量、年龄对术中体感诱发电位监护的影响

目的 研究脊柱侧凸病人体质量、身高、年龄与术中体感诱发电位（SEP）监护的关系. 方法 以70例脊柱侧凸病人为对象,其中男性19例,女性51例;年龄4～35岁,平均年龄17.5岁;身高100～188 cm,平均159.44 cm;体质量15.5～84 kg,平均44.39 kg.分析术中皮层和下皮层SEP的潜伏期和波幅在不同手术阶段的百分比变化率与体质量、身高、年龄的相关性. 结果 数据统计结果显示,各监护阶段SEP波峰潜伏期和波幅的百分比变化率与病人的体质量、身高和年龄没有显著的相关性（相关系数｜ r ｜＜0.35,P＞0.05）. 结论 在脊柱侧凸矫形手术术中脊髓监护过程中,病人的身高、体质量和年龄不会对SEP监护结果产生影响.     

The relation of total body potassium to height, weight, and age in normal adults

Total body potassium was measured in 103 healthy adults using a shadow-shield whole-body monitor of high sensitivity. The range of height was 147 to 192 cm, of weight 43 to 92 kg, and of age 18 to 77 years.The values obtained for total body potassium were correlated with height, with weight, and with height and weight. Age was then included as an additional variable.The standard deviation from regression was smaller when total body potassium was correlated with height than with weight and was further reduced, to about 9%, in a multiple regression using height and age. The advantages of this relationship over indices involving weight are discussed.The smallest standard deviation from regression, 7.5%, was obtained when total body potassium was correlated with height, weight, and age. The usefulness of this relationship is discussed with comment on its limitations.A regression equation was derived between lean body mass (derived from height and weight) and total body potassium with a standard deviation from regression of 5.5% in males and 7.3% in females.     

Age at puberty in relation to age at marriage and parenthood: A national longitudinal study

A longitudinal study of a British cohort has collected information on puberty, judged by menarcheal age for the girls and the pubertal stage of the boys at age 14 3/4. This information has now been related to the ages at which these young people married and became parents. For the young men there was evidence of a direct relationship between degree of sexual maturity at age 14 3/4 and their ages at entry into marriage and fatherhood. For the young women, if pregnancy did not intervene between menarche and marriage, there was evidence of a direct relationship between menarcheal age and marriage age. But there was no evidence that these earlier-maturing young women became mothers at earlier ages than later maturers. This arose through the later-maturing young women having shorter first birth intervals than the earlier maturers. Premarital conceptions were also more prevalent amongst the later maturers.     

Birth weight and childhood size in a national sample of 6- to 11-year-old children

The extent to which body size (stature, weight, or weight-for-stature) in later childhood is related to birth weight for normal-weight, full-term infants was explored using data from a national sample of U.S. children examined in Cycle II of the National Health Examination Survey, 1963–65. Standardized measurements of stature and weight from 4,689 white singletons ages 6–11 years were linked with birth certificate information. There were small but consistent positive associations of attained stature and weight with birth weight. The Body Mass Index (BMI), a measure of weight in proportion to stature, was also positively related to birth weight, although not as consistently, suggesting that the greater attained weight of higher birth weight children may be related to increased adiposity as well as to greater stature. However, simulations of the effect of an across-the-board increase in birth weight by 100 g or 200 g showed a negligible expected increase in the number of children with high BMI values. These findings indicate that birth weight is directly or indirectly a factor related to growth in childhood, but that upward shifts in the distribution of birth weight would have little effect on the prevalence of childhood obesity. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc

1 This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

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Prediction of standing height among Israeli older adults: Results from a national survey

Background: An accurate measurement of full height while standing is sometimes not possible among older adults, in particular among the frail elderly. For such cases, the use of knee height (KH) and ulna bone length (UL) has been suggested for standing height estimation. Studies have shown that predictive equations of height were ethnic-specific.

Aim: This study attempted to develop representative equations to predict standing height based on KH, UL and waist circumference (WC) for older adult Israeli women and men.

Subjects and methods: A random sample of 1500 older adults (aged 74.48 ± 6.09 years old). Participants were interviewed in their homes and measurements of Standing height, KH, UL and WC were taken. A quadratic regression analysis, for each sex separately, was performed to predict standing height based on age, KH, UL and WC.

Results: The adjusted r ² standing height prediction equations were 0.51 and 0.67 for women and men, respectively.

Conclusions: The prediction of the standing height of frail elderly Israelis, by KH, UL, WC and age, may be an alternative method when actual standing height is difficult or not possible to measure.     

Risk factors for adolescent substance abuse and dependence: data from a national sample

A national household probability sample of 4,023 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years was interviewed by telephone about substance use, victimization experiences, familial substance use, and posttraumatic reactions to identify risk factors for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders--(4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) defined substance abuse/dependence. Age and ethnicity data were available for 3,907 participants. Major findings were (a) adolescents who had been physically assaulted, who had been sexually assaulted, who had witnessed violence, or who had family members with alcohol or drug use problems had increased risk for current substance abuse/dependence; (b) posttraumatic stress disorder independently increased risk of marijuana and hard drug abuse/dependence; and (c) when effects of other variables were controlled, African Americans, but not Hispanics or Native Americans, were at approximately 1/3 the risk of substance abuse/dependence as Caucasians.     

Marital status transitions and psychological distress: longitudinal evidence from a national population sample

BACKGROUND: Evidence is conflicting as to whether the association between marital status and psychological distress is due to selection (i.e. distress influences marital status) or causation (marital status influences distress). We investigate: (i) whether differences in psychological distress pre-date marital transitions; (ii) whether levels of distress change following transitions; and (iii) potential mediating and moderating factors. METHODS: Data on psychological distress (indicated by the Malaise Inventory) and marital status at ages 23 and 33 were analysed for 4514 men and 4842 women from the 1958 birth cohort. RESULTS: Higher levels of distress were found among the divorced and lower levels among the single and the married. Selection was seen in the lower initial mean symptoms of those who married (1.69 for men; 2.84 for women) compared to those remaining single (2.41 for men; 3.26 for women). Causation was indicated by the relative deterioration in distress of those who divorced compared to the continuously married (an increase of 0.31 and 0.03 respectively for men), especially in women (a decrease of 0.18 versus 0.71). This was most evident in women who were downwardly mobile and those with children. Recently separated men and women showed especially large increases in distress. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between marital status and psychological distress involves selection and causation. Findings failed to support ideas of marriage being protective (through social support), or detrimental (through family roles). Divorce increased distress, with both acute and longer-term components moderated by secondary factors such as childcare and declining socioeconomic status.     

Variation of body weight with age, sex and height. An index for classification of obesity

The body weight of 472 randomly selected inhabitants of a city population was studied in relation to age, sex and height. Weight tables were constructed from multiple regression equations. The reliability of the weights obtained and the concepts of average weight and obesity are discussed. Comparisons with earlier weight standards are made and commented upon. Over- and underweight can be expressed as % of expected weight (WE), i.e. (WO-WE)/WE X 100, where WO = observed weight. WE are calculated from the formulas WE = 6 + 0.78 X (height (cm) - 100) + 0.17 X age for men and WE = 7 + 0.71 X (height (cm) - 100) + 0.17 X age for women. These formulas are the basis for the weight tables and are derived from a subsample, obtained by excluding obese subjects from the total sample.     

Effects of social class differences and social mobility on growth in height, weight and body mass index in a British cohort

By longitudinally linking follow-up restudies of the National Child Development Study it has been possible to examine not only the well-known association of social class with the size of the child, but also with longitudinal growth, and, in addition the effect of social mobility on growth. The relation of type of occupation of the male head of household to height and weight of the child is seen at all ages (7, 11 and 16) but class influence on growth from 7 years onward is minimal. Social mobility is a significant factor especially in relation to stature but is not significantly related to growth after age 7 so the effect of underlying conditions on the children precedes the change of type of occupation by their fathers.     

Prediction of lean body mass from height and weight

Lean body mass, calculated from the measurement of total body water using antipyrine space, was estimated in 29 males and 27 females. It was found that the lean body mass could be predicted from the height and weight, and formulae for both males and females have been produced with multiple correlation coefficients (r) of 0.96 and 0.83 respectively.     

Mean and instantaneous expiratory flows, FVC and FEV1: prediction equations from a probability sample of Michigan, a large industrial state

Prediction equations for FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, FEF25-75%, FEF75-85%, FEF50% and FEF75% were modelled for 396 normal non-obese adult lifetime nonsmokers and continuing smokers. Subjects came from a random cross-section of the white population of Michigan, a large industrial state. In both sexes, linear models utilizing age and height were appropriate for FVC, FEV1/FVC and FEV1; flows were better described by logarithmic transformation. These regression equations provided similar predicted values for FVC and FEV1 in nonsmokers to other models in wide use. Previous equations for instantaneous flows have yielded inconsistent predicted values. It is hoped that the present equations will be useful for these measurements. Duration of cigarette smoking was a significant prediction variable for FEV1, FEV1/FVC and mean and instantaneous flows in these normal men, but not in normal women. For FEV1, the effect of each year of smoking was 40% of the effect of ageing.     

Sexual dimorphism in passive avoidance behavior of rats: Relation to body weight,age, shock intensity and retention interval

Female rats were inferior to age- and weight-matched males in the retention of a step-through type passive avoidance response 24 and 48 hr after the learning. This sex difference could be observed at different intensities of foot shock which was used as aversive stimulus during the single learning trial. Additionally, unlike in males, retention of the passive avoidance response in the females was not the function of shock intensity. Male and female rats, however, showed similar passive avoidance if tested immediately after the learning trial. The results suggest the existence of sexual dimorphism in memory processes.     

13～15岁壮族青少年年龄、身高、体质量与肺活量的相关性

目的:建立广西壮族13~15岁青少年肺活量正常参考值及其与身高、体质量和年龄之间的相关性,为临床应用提供参考。方法:以常住广西百色地区13~15岁正常壮族青少年为研究对象,采用肺活量计测量肺活量和人体成分分析仪测量体质,采用马丁顿测高仪测量身高。结果:13~15岁壮族男女青少年肺活量与年龄、身高均呈正相关,体质量是男女性肺活量的主要影响因素。13岁壮族女生平均身高和体质量均显著低于同龄男生,13岁女生的肺活量值低于同龄男生,但14岁女生的肺活量值显著提高。结论:肺活量随着体质量、身高和年龄的增加逐渐增加,随着青春期的启动而显著地增加,青春期是肺活量迅速增加的一个关键时期。