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PubMed2003

Heritability of adult body height: a comparative study of twin cohorts in eight countries.

A major component of variation in body height is due to genetic differences, but environmental factors have a substantial contributory effect. In this study we aimed to analyse whether the genetic architecture of body height varies between affluent western societies. We analysed twin data from eight countries comprising 30,111 complete twin pairs by using the univariate genetic model of the Mx statistical package. Body height and zygosity were self-reported in seven populations and measured directly in one population. We found that there was substantial variation in mean body height between countries; body height was least in Italy (177 cm in men and 163 cm in women) and greatest in the Netherlands (184 cm and 171 cm, respectively). In men there was no corresponding variation in heritability of body height, heritability estimates ranging from 0.87 to 0.93 in populations under an additive genes/unique environment (AE) model. Among women the heritability estimates were generally lower than among men with greater variation between countries, ranging from 0.68 to 0.84 when an additive genes/shared environment/unique environment (ACE) model was used. In four populations where an AE model fit equally well or better, heritability ranged from 0.89 to 0.93. This difference between the sexes was mainly due to the effect of the shared environmental component of variance, which appears to be more important among women than among men in our study populations. Our results indicate that, in general, there are only minor differences in the genetic architecture of height between affluent Caucasian populations, especially among men.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

[Use of the RWT method for predicting final adult body height in boys of short stature].

On the empirical data of body height of 75 healthy short stature boys, the comparison using Roche, Weiner and Thiessen (RWT) method for predicting adult stature was conducted. There are no significant differences between real and predicted body height, since body height of normal short boys aged 18-19 years was in agreement with the stature predicted retrospectively in the age 10-15 years. American RWT method for predicting final adult stature may be used for Polish boys with hypostatura simplex.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Body height, weight, and skeletal maturation in Hottentot (Khoikhoi) children.

Growth of body height and weight and skeletal maturation are discussed, based on 49 male and 61 female Hottentot children aged 3 to 17 years from Warmbad, Namibia (South West Africa) and 124 boys and 113 girls aged 1 to 21 years of related populations, the Rehoboth Basters of Namibia and Cape Coloreds from Cape Town, South Africa. The related populations are taller and heavier than the Hottentots, and have almost the same body height as American blacks and whites at least after the age of 18 years. In the Hottentots and Rehoboth Basters, the mean TW2 skeletal age is always less than the British standard by one or two years in both sexes. In general, the Rehoboth Basters have a skeletal age that is intermediate between Hottentot and British children. In both Hottentots and Rehoboth Basters, the increase in body height shows a linear relation to the skeletal age, and the regression curves are almost parallel in both sexes. The differences in body height and weight between the Hottentots and Rehoboth Basters become greater after the skeletal ages of 15 years for boys and 13 years for girls.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Genetic and environmental contributions to the association between body height and educational attainment: a study of adult Finnish twins.

The nature of the association between body height and educational attainment found in previous studies remains to be clarified. The aim of this study was to examine factors contributing to this association by using a large Finnish twin data set (8798 adult twin pairs) gathered by questionnaire in 1981. A bivariate twin analysis was used to determine whether the genetic and environmental factors behind body height and educational attainment correlate with each other. A high heritability was found for body height (h2 = 0.78 in men and h2 = 0.75 in women), and a moderate heritability for education (h2 = 0.47 and h2 = 0.43, respectively). Shared environmental effects were also important in body height (c2 = 0.12 in men and c2 = 0.11 in women) and education (c2 = 0.36 and c2 = 0.43, respectively). A high correlation (r(c) = 0.77 in men, r(c) = 0.58 in women) of shared environmental factors education and body height, and weaker correlations (r = 0.11 and r = 0.08, respectively) of unshared environmental factors were found. The correlation of genetic factors between these two characteristics was not statistically significant. The results suggest that the association between body height and education is due mainly to nongenetic family factors.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

The 'accelerator hypothesis': relationship between weight, height, body mass index and age at diagnosis in a large cohort of 9,248 German and Austrian children with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this study was to investigate whether either increased weight or BMI are associated with the earlier manifestation of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children. METHODS: We evaluated anthropometric measurements in a large cohort of 9,248 patients of European extraction who were diagnosed in the years 1990-2003 in 116 pediatric clinics throughout Germany and Austria. RESULTS: Patients were divided into four groups according to age (0-4.9 years, 5-9.9 years, 10-14.9 years and 15-20 years). Significantly higher standard deviation scores (SDSs) for weight and BMI at diabetes onset were found for both boys and girls in the three younger age groups (up to 14.9 years of age) compared with the reference population (p<0.00001). In addition, the BMI SDS and the weight SDS were significantly higher in the 0-4.9-years age group than in all other groups (p<0.00001), and BMI SDS at onset gradually decreased with increasing age at manifestation (p<0.0001). Over the >10-year study period, there was a continuous rise in the weight-SDS and the BMI-SDS in the cohort (p<0.0001), especially in the 5-9.9-years and the 10-14.9-years age groups. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant influence of male sex and of year of manifestation on BMI SDS (p<0.0001) and demonstrated a negative association between the patients' BMI SDS and age at diagnosis, with a mean annual decrease in BMI SDS of -0.0248 (95% CI -0.0294 to -0.0202, p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: A higher BMI was associated with a younger age at diabetes onset. Increased weight gain could therefore be a risk factor for the early manifestation of type 1 diabetes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Secular changes in body height and weight in children and adolescents in Poznan, Poland, between 1880 and 2000.

AIM: A secular trend in body height and weight is well documented. The first observations concerning this phenomenon in Poland were made at the end of the 19th century. The aim of this study was to assess changes in body height and weight during the 20th century, with special emphasis on the last decade. METHODS: The results of body height and weight measurements obtained in eight subsequent surveys (1880-1886, 1922-1927, 1946-1950, 1960-1961, 1970-1971, 1980-1981, 1990-1991 and 1999-2000) were included in the analysis. Mean values were compared and differences between the surveys were analysed. RESULTS: In general, in the 20th century, children grew taller and heavier and reached final body height and weight more rapidly. The biggest differences in body height and weight in the 20th century, observed at growth spurt, were about 17 cm and 11 kg, respectively, for boys, and 13 cm and 13 kg for girls. The magnitude of secular changes in body height and weight in the 20th century was not stable. There were periods of increased and decreased intensity of acceleration of physical development (the 1950s and 1970s, and the 1960s and 1980s, respectively), as well as a period of deceleration (the 1940s). In the last decade, the tendency has been towards deceleration in most age groups studied. CONCLUSION: The acceleration of physical development in children in Poznan has now ceased.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Secular change in body height and cephalic index of Croatian medical students (University of Rijeka).

An investigation of body height and cephalic measurements was performed among five groups of first-year medical students of the University of Rijeka School of Medicine (Rijeka, Croatia). Body height and different cephalic measurements showed normal distribution, both in male and female students. Differences between measured variables were statistically analyzed by ANOVA. No significant difference with regard to year of birth was found in either males or females. The cephalic index showed no statistically significant difference between sexes or with regard to body height, while head breadth and length correlated significantly with birth year and body height, both in males and females. Head breadth decreased within the study period, while head length increased. Results were compared with those of similar studies from the mid-20th century. Student's t-test showed a significant change of cephalic indices and other head measurements, but not of body height, in males. The frequency difference between various head shapes was tested using the chi-square test. A significant increase of dolichocephalic and mesocephalic and a significant decrease of brachycephalic head shape were found in both sexes. These results suggest a continuity of the debrachycephalization process observed in our population at the past midcentury.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Sex differences in genetic and environmental factors contributing to body-height.

Sex differences in the heritability of self-reported body-height in two Finnish twin cohorts were studied by using sex-limitation models. The first cohort was born in 1938-1949 (N = 4873 twin pairs) and the second in 1975-1979 (N = 2374 twin pairs). Body-height was greater in the younger cohort (difference of 3.1 cm for men and 2.9 cm for women). The heritability estimates were higher among men (h2 = 0.87 in the older cohort and h2 = 0.82 in the younger cohort) than women (h2 = 0.78 and h2 = 0.67, respectively). Sex-specific genetic factors were not statistically significant in either cohort, suggesting that the same genes contribute to variation in body height for both men and women. The stronger contribution of environmental factors to body-height among women questions the hypothesis that women are better buffered against environmental stress, at least for this phenotype.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Palatal dimensions and some inherited factors (body height and metacarpal index).

The relationship between the palatal dimensions and inherited factors such as body height and arachnodactyly, i.e., spider fingers, were studied in a sample of 87 patients with high and narrow palatal vaults, chosen from 1008 randomly selected patients at an orthodontic clinic. The patients with high palates were significantly taller than Swedes of the same sex and age (p < 0.001). Established arachnodactyly was not found in the examined sample. Sucking habits neither seem to influence crowding nor the palatal dimension at the molar region. Mouthbreathing strengthened but was not a pre-requisite for the significant correlation between palatal height and body height. The predominant orthodontic diagnoses included crowding, extreme maxillary overjet and postnormal occlusion as can be expected in a sample of orthodontic patients. The study will serve as a reference material for further investigations of patients with the Marfan syndrome where high palate, high stature and arachnodactyly are important features.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Body height change during upright and recumbent posture.

Body height changes are known to occur in response to changes in loads acting along the spine, such as those produced by movement from a recumbent to an upright posture. Lack of previously available data is addressed here by body height measurements closely spaced in time of ten normal subjects during 8 hours upright and 4 hours recumbent, with particular attention paid to the initial changes. Experimental errors are carefully defined and determined. A Kelvin-unit model is fitted to the mean data for each phase and confidence limits provided for the model equation parameters. Rapid height changes are shown to occur: 26% of the 8-hour loss occurred in the first hour upright, and 41% of the 4-hour recovery occurred in the first hour recumbent.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Normal body height in hypercalciuric children].

The body height of 132 children, aged 3-16 years, with idiopathic hypercalciuria was within the Hungarian normal limits in each case. The type of hypercalciuria could be determined in 54 cases: no difference between height values of children with renal and absorptive form was found.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[Personal operator dose in invasive cardiology as a function of body height and tube angulation].

PURPOSE: To map in an experimental setting of the local personal operator dose for 55 selected tube angulations as a function of body height above ground. MATERIALS AND METHODS: On an Alderson-Rando phantom representing the patient, we performed measurements of fluoroscopy scatter radiation ( micro Sv/h) at the operator's position, for the range of 20 - 200 cm body height, for all tube angulations in 30 degrees steps from right anterior oblique (RAO) 90 degrees to left anterior oblique (LAO) 90 degrees position, and for planes angulated cranially (+) and caudally (-) by 10 degrees, 20 degrees, 30 degrees, and 40 degrees, unless rendered unfeasible by geometric circumstances. RESULTS: Radiation exposure to the operator is lowest between postero-anterior (PA) 0 degrees and RAO 30 degrees angulation, and continuously increases by a factor of approx. 2 towards steep RAO, and to factors of 5 - 10 towards steep LAO views. Craniocaudal angulation at 30 degrees likewise generates personal dose levels 2 - 3 times as high. For all body heights and all LAO tube angulations, the corridor between 0 degrees - 10 degrees caudal angulation generates the least personal scatter dose, likewise irrespective of body height and craniocaudal tube angulations, the corridor between 0 degrees PA - 30 degrees RAO angulation. RAO angulations, however, being inverse to the respective 90 degrees LAO angulations, are generally 4 to 5 times less radiation extensive. Peak levels of the local personal dose vary from 160 cm body height for steep cranial LAO 90 degrees /30 degrees + views (3,500 microSv/h), to 50 cm for cranial PA 0 degrees /30 degrees + (400 micro Sv/h), and to > or = 170 cm (600 micro Sv/h) and < or = 40 cm (300 microSv/h) for steep cranial RAO 90 degrees /30 degrees + views. Caudal angulations generate slightly lower doses, with peak levels at 120 cm for LAO 90 degrees /30 degrees - views (3,000 microSv/h), at 50 cm for PA 0 degrees /30 degrees - views (300 micro Sv/h), and above 170 cm (900 micro Sv/h) and below 40 cm (500 microSv/h) for steep caudal RAO 90 degrees /30 degrees - views. CONCLUSION: The present experimental study on scatter radiation to the operator, as a function of body height and tube angulation, offers a representative data tool for all interventionists for use in invasive cardiology, to confirm the radiation safety of their favored coronary views, or to encourage less radiation-intensive angulations. Moreover, it provides new knowledge about special risks for crucial body regions and enables effective radiation protection strategies.

Body Height↗
PubMed1992

"Lucy's" body height and relative leg length: human- or ape-like?

The body height of Australopithecus afarensis A.L. 288-1 ("Lucy") has recently been estimated and calculated as between 1 m to 1.06 m; other estimates give ca. 1.20 m. In addition, it is often stated that her relative leg length was shorter than that of modern humans. Using relative leg-, femur- and tibia length it is shown that both statements together can not be true; either her body height must at least have been around 1.06 to 1.10 m to give "Lucy" human-like leg proportions, or, to achieve a shorter, more ape-like leg ratio, a body height of ca. 1.20 m must be assumed.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Body height, birth cohort and social background in Finland and Sweden.

BACKGROUND: Poor childhood living conditions are associated with short stature. Before the Second World War Finland had much lower living standards than Sweden, but this gap had largely disappeared by the 1970s. Body height differences were examined by birth cohort, economic difficulties in childhood and adult socioeconomic position in Finland and Sweden. METHODS: Two nationally representative data sets were used (n = 7,300 in Finland and n = 4,551 in Sweden). Three indicators of social background were included, i.e. economic difficulties in childhood, education and occupational class. The methods used were direct age-standardisation, index of dissimilarity and regression analysis. RESULTS: In the cohort born in 1920-1929 body height was taller in Sweden (175.8 cm among men and 163.7 cm among women) than in Finland (173.9 and 161.2 cm respectively). Body height by birth cohort increased faster in Finland, with the result that, in the cohort born in 1960-1969, the gap between the countries had narrowed to 0.8 cm among men and 0.3 cm among women. Body height differences by social background were larger in Finland than in Sweden. Socioeconomic body height differences have remained largely stable over the birth cohorts in both countries. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that differential economic development is partly seen in the narrowing of body height differences between Finland and Sweden. However, socioeconomic differences in body height have remained largely similar over the birth cohorts studied and between Finland and Sweden.

Adolescent↗